New Books Network Andrew Thomas Park, "Sarah Wambaugh and the Plebiscite: The Turbulent History of a Democratic Alternative to War" (Cambridge UP, 2026)
Apr 7, 2026
Dr. Andrew Park, historian of international relations and author of a book on Sarah Wambaugh, explores the rise and fall of plebiscites in the interwar world. He discusses archival sleuthing, Wambaugh’s rulebook for voting under international supervision, contested cases like Upper Silesia and the Saar, and how democratic tools became entangled with violence and appeasement.
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Wambaugh's Path From Suffrage To Plebiscites
- Sarah Wambaugh moved from U.S. suffrage activism to studying plebiscites after joining the Women's Peace Party and writing a thousand-page Monograph on Plebiscites by 1918.
- Her upbringing in a Harvard law household and fieldwork interest in Central Europe propelled her into archival research and a career advising plebiscites.
Why Plebiscites Flourished After World War I
- Post‑WWI revolutionary fervor and elite anxiety about legitimacy made plebiscites attractive as democratic solutions to territorial disputes.
- Policymakers used plebiscites instrumentally at Paris because Wilsonian self‑determination rhetoric met chaotic, urgent postwar conditions.
When Plebiscites Become Violent Debacles
- Early interwar plebiscites produced mixed outcomes: Schleswig and some eastern Prussia votes were peaceful, but Upper Silesia and Teschen descended into violence and insurgency.
- These high‑conflict failures severely damaged the plebiscite's reputation among statesmen.
