5 THE POST-WAR DECLINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CONFERENCE 469In addition to the ‘Ways of Life’ study, the ISC, on its own intiative,
commenced in 1947 a research project entitled ‘The Sovereignty of
Nations in Modern International Life’.^141 As discussed at a meeting of
its provisional executive committee in January 1948, this project would
address the question, in line with the proposal put forward by Pernot in
Paris in 1946, of the limits on sovereignty and national independence in
light of the evolution of international relations in the juridical, political
and economic spheres. The board expected that in the context of the pro-
ject special attention would be paid to the United Nations and to regional
organisations, to the ‘fundamental inequality of power between States’
and to the possibility of economic cooperation and expansion.^142
In 1947, the ISC resumed its study of the university teaching of interna-
tional relations.^143 As Vernant noted, this was largely due to the efforts of
the conference’s rapporteur on university teaching, namely, Manning and the
BCCIS. In light of request made by the conference secretariat and sugges-
tions made at the November 1945 meeting at Chatham House, Manning
had submitted a memorandum on the subject of university teaching to the
ISC’s 1946 administrative meeting. At the time of its submission, his expec-
tation was that the memorandum would form the basis of part of the discus-
sion at what was the thirteenth administrative meeting of the ISC.^144
In the memorandum, Manning noted that from the very outset the
ISC’s premise had been that there ‘existed a subject-matter, “international
relations”, patient of scientific study’.^145 Manning pointed out that knowl-
edgeable people in the contemporary context viewed the subject seriously,
adding that in Britain at least, ‘no apology is made for it’ even if some con-
servative minds dismiss it as ‘mere popularisation of “current affairs”.^146
(^141) Vernant, ‘International Relations: The Work of the International Studies Conference,’ 58.
(^142) Vernant, ‘La Conférence Permanente des Hautes Études Internationales,’ 120–22.
(^143) Vernant, ‘International Relations: The Work of the International Studies Conference,’ 60.
(^144) Jiri F. Vranek to Charles W. Manning, March 20, 1946, and Communication aux mem-
bers de la Conférence des hautes études internationales, July 19, 1946, Enseignement uni-
versitaire des relations internationales à partir du 1er mai 1938 jusqu’à octobre 1946, AG
1-IICI-K-I-14.c, UA.
(^145) International Studies Conference, XIIIth Session: Memorandum on the University
Teaching of International Relations by Professor C. A. W. Manning, 1, AG 1-IICI-K-I-
14.c, UA.
(^146) Ibid., 1, 3.