In the watershed year of 1919, world leaders met in Paris, promising to build a new international order rooted in democracy and social justice. Female activists demanded that statesmen live up to their word. Excluded from the negotiating table, women met separately, crafted their own agendas, and captured global headlines with a message that was both straightforward and revolutionary: enduring peace depended as much on recognition of the fundamental humanity and equality of all people—regardless of sex, race, class, or creed—as on respect for the sovereignty of independent states.

Peace on Our Terms follows dozens of remarkable women from Europe, the Middle East, North America, and Asia as they crossed oceans and continents; commanded meeting halls in Paris, Zurich, and Washington; and marched in the streets of Cairo and Beijing. Mona L. Siegel’s sweeping global account of international organizing highlights how Egyptian and Chinese nationalists, Western and Japanese labor feminists, white Western suffragists, and African American civil rights advocates worked in tandem to advance women’s rights. Despite significant resistance, these pathbreaking women left their mark on emerging democratic constitutions and new institutions of global governance. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Peace on Our Terms is the first book to demonstrate the centrality of women’s activism to the Paris Peace Conference and the critical diplomatic events of 1919. Siegel tells the timely story of how female activists transformed women’s rights into a global rallying cry, laying a foundation for generations to come.

"A riveting study...this sparkling, character-driven history will captivate readers interested in the suffrage movement and feminist history." - Publishers Weekly

"Peace on Our Terms is a 'must read' for anyone interested in WPS, women's peace history, feminist historical scholarship, or women and social movements." - International Feminist Journal of Politics

"Even specialists on women’s internationalism will discover new insights in these pages...in taking seriously the microdiplomacy of allied feminists with their Central Powers counterparts while reconceptualizing the players and meaning of diplomacy, Siegel illuminates powerful dreams and desires behind gender equity." - Diplomatic History

"Argue[s] that the feminist campaigners of the interwar period set the terms for future activism by insisting that the language of human rights is inherently feminist." - London Review of Books

"A very worthwhile addition to the literature on the international women's movement, which also enhances understanding of postwar international politics." - Choice

"Offers an insightful and engaging combination of history and biography that sheds new light on the history of the First World War, the history of France and its relationship with the world, and the transnational history of women and women’s movements." - H-France Review

"Original and well-researched...makes significant contributions to the history of women's involvement in transnational movements." - Women and Social Movements

"This book would be appropriate for advanced World History courses, Gender Studies, or even as a foil for post-World War One history courses that are traditionally taught. The book is accessible for community college undergraduates as well as graduate courses and adds new global insights." - Middle Ground Journal