The Depression and its impact on international relations: the failures of…

The idea

The Great Depression destabilised international relations, replacing the cooperative 'Spirit of Locarno' with economic nationalism. As global trade collapsed, the system of US loans, German reparations, and Allied war debts broke down. The 1932 Lausanne Conference attempted to address this by effectively cancelling German reparations, but failed to resolve the wider issue of Allied debts to the USA, which Congress refused to forgive. The 1933 London World Economic Conference then sought international agreement on currency stabilisation and trade revival. Its failure, triggered by US President Roosevelt's refusal to stabilise the dollar, marked the end of collective economic diplomacy and accelerated the global drift towards autarky and conflict.

What earns the marks

• Analyse how the Wall Street Crash and subsequent Depression destroyed the economic foundations of the Locarno era.
• Evaluate the outcomes of the 1932 Lausanne Conference, specifically the suspension of reparations and the unresolved tension over Allied war debts to the USA.
• Assess the reasons for the failure of the 1933 London World Economic Conference, focusing on Roosevelt's 'Bombshell Message'.
• Explain how the failure of these conferences led to increased economic nationalism, protectionism, and the rise of aggressive autarkic regimes.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Claiming the Lausanne Conference successfully resolved all international debt.

  Put it right by noting it only suspended German reparations, while the USA still demanded repayment of Allied war debts.

• Confusing the aims of the two conferences.

  Put it right by specifying that Lausanne (1932) dealt with reparations and war debts, whereas London (1933) focused on broader currency stabilisation and tariff reduction.

• Underestimating the role of the USA in the failure of the London Conference.

  Put it right: Explicitly linking the conference's collapse to Roosevelt's prioritisation of domestic recovery over international cooperation.

Exam tips

• Use the failure of the London Conference to demonstrate the shift from international cooperation in the 1920s to isolationism in the 1930s.
• Link the economic collapse directly to political extremism, showing how the failure to resolve debts at Lausanne weakened moderate governments, particularly in Weimar Germany.
• When discussing the Depression's impact, explicitly mention the breakdown of the Dawes and Young Plans to show continuity and change in international relations.