Romania at the Paris Peace Conference: A Study of the Diplomacy of Ioan I.C. Bratianu

Written by Sherman David Spector, a noted American specialist on Romanian history, Romania at the Paris Peace Conference studies the diplomacy of Ioan I.C. Bratianu during World War I and in its aftermath that led to the formation of Greater Romania. The book describes the successful struggle waged by the Romanian government for recognition of the provisions of the secret treaty of 1916 and, in addition, for approval of the de facto annexation of Bessarabia, carried out in 1918 with the encouragement of the Central Powers. A substantial share of the credit for this achievement, Spector asserts, must be given to Ioan I.C. Bratianu, a stubborn, over-bearing, yet skillful negotiator who answered all attempts to delineate more equitable frontiers with a rigid restatement of Romanias full claims.

Bratianu was a master of that subtle, farsighted, and somewhat disreputable diplomacy, in other times referred to as Byzantine. Like his Byzantine forebears, Bratianu was adept in the art of playing nations against each other for his own benefit. The uncertainty in which he left the Great Powers as to which side Romania would eventually join was a masterpiece of political strategy. Vacillation as a diplomatic art was brought to its loftiest height of perfection by Romanian rulers during the centuries of precarious existence wedged between the Turks, Magyars, and Slavs.

Bratianu proved a worthy successor to his predecessors. From 1914 to 1916, he executed one of the most notable acts of political tightrope walking. The Germans assumed he would never fight against them but feared he might not fight for them. The Allies doubted if he would ever fight for them but hoped he would not fight against them. Finally, he threw in with the Allies at the decisive moment, and the results were catastrophic. But out of the catastrophe, Romania emerged with her territory and population doubled, becoming the sixth-largest country in Europe and the dominant state in Southeastern Europe.

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