5 THE POST-WAR DECLINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CONFERENCE 441through scientific knowledge.’^48 Mayoux warned against the error of
viewing the ‘imitation of the exterior forms and accessories’ of European
civilisation as a form of homage. Such imitation, he insisted, did not
prevent feelings of rancour in relation to Europe’s enormous material
power. According to Mayoux, the task which lay ahead for UNESCO
in terms of preserving cultural diversity was that of encouraging among
non-European peoples ‘pride’ in their own culture and of fostering the
‘cultural fertility’ which depends on that pride. Such an approach, he
affirmed, would involve a ‘difficult effort of redistributive justice’: great
material resources needed to be placed in the hands of all nations in
order that they would not be obsessed with the fear of taking a path that
would distance them from their legitimate material aspirations.^49
tHe internAtionAl studies conference revived
In addition to seeking to preserve the IIIC, Mayoux expended consid-
erable energy throughout 1945 in seeking to revive the ISC, an organ-
isation which he considered to be one of the IIIC’s ‘most successful
initiatives’.^50 Prompted by Mayoux’s communication on the subject,
Potter, who remained in the role of general rapporteur but who had
shifted from Geneva to Washington in light of his new position as sec-
retary and managing editor of the American Journal of International
Law, consulted Bonnet. Bonnet, who had become French ambassador at
Washington in December 1944, declared himself in favour of the ISC’s
continuance. By contrast and somewhat surprisingly, Davis informed
Potter that although he had ‘no opinion’ on the future of the confer-
ence, he thought it might be ‘desirable to reconsider its usefulness.’^51
Davis’s attitude was perhaps a reflection of the fact that there was lit-
tle enthusiasm in the United States, as was also the case in Canada, for
the revival of the ISC.^52 Potter was exception in this regard, although
(^48) Mayoux, ‘La Coopération Intellectuelle Internationale: UNESCO,’ xxiii.
(^49) Ibid., xxiii.
(^50) Jean-Jacques Mayoux to Malcolm W. Davis, June 22, 1946, Dotation Carnegie,
Conférence permanente des hautes études internationales, de 1945 à décembre 1946, AG
1-IICI-K-V-2.d, UA.
(^51) Pitman B. Potter to Jean-Jacques Mayoux, April 23, 1945, and Pitman B. Potter to
Jean-Jacques Mayoux, October 23, 1945, AG 1-IICI-K-I-24, UA.
(^52) Potter to Mayoux, October 23, 1945, AG 1-IICI-K-I-24, UA.