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When states appease: British appeasement in the 1930s.
- Source :
-
Review of International Studies . Apr2015, Vol. 41 Issue 2, p289-311. 23p. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- When do states appease their foes? In this article, we argue that governments are most likely to favour appeasing a foreign threat when their top leaders are severely cross–pressured: when the demands for increased security conflict sharply with their domestic political priorities. We develop the deductive argument through a detailed analysis of British appeasement in the 1930s. We show that Neville Chamberlain grappled with a classic dilemma of statecraft: how to reduce the risk of German expansionism while facing acute partisan and electoral incentives to invest resources at home. For Chamberlain, appeasement was a means to reconcile the demands for increased security with what he and his co-partisans were trying to achieve domestically. We conclude by discussing implications of the analysis for theorising about appeasement and about how leaders make grand strategy more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 02602105
- Volume :
- 41
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Review of International Studies
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 101378510
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210514000278