In the animal kingdom the period of gestation is roughly proportionate to the weight of the species.
As the Big Four gathered at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria this week, the world was uncomfortably conscious that the advent of peace was still, 18 months after V-E day, 15 months after V-J day, not imminent. Could analogy support the hope that this peace was long-deferred because its issues were weightier and, therefore, less likely to be tossed aside?
World War I's peace was signed, sealed and delivered seven and a half months after the Armistice. By the standards of 1946, Versailles was a superficial peace,...