2K International Relations and Global Conflict, c1890–1941 (A-level only) – Attempts at maintaining the peace, 1923–1935 — AQA A-Level History

The period between 1923 and 1935 encapsulates the arc from post-Ruhr stabilization to the collapse of collective security. Propelled by the pragmatism of Gustav Stresemann, Aristide Briand, and Austen Chamberlain, the mid-1920s witnessed landmark diplomatic breakthroughs including the Dawes Plan, the Locarno Treaties, and Germany's accession to the League of Nations.

However, this era of apparent détente masked profound structural weaknesses, including the exclusion of Eastern Europe from definitive border guarantees and total economic dependency on American capital. The onset of the Great Depression in 1929 dismantled this fragile consensus, culminating in the rise of aggressive fascism, the paralysis of the World Disarmament Conference, and the ultimate descent toward unilateral rearmament by 1935.

• →Fulfillment Policy (Erfüllungspolitik): Stresemann's strategy of complying with the Treaty of Versailles to prove its unfeasibility and win peaceful revisions from the Western Allies.
• →The 'Spirit of Locarno': A diplomatic atmosphere of reconciliation following the 1925 treaties, though undermined by lack of military enforcement and open eastern frontiers.
• →Economic Interdependence and Fragility: The triangular cycle of US loans, German reparations, and Allied war debt repayments to America that unraveled disastrously post-1929.
• →Failure of Disarmament: The insurmountable conflict between French demands for prior security guarantees and German demands for parity (Gleichberechtigung).

• Assess the impact of the Dawes Plan (1924) on European economic stability and the easing of Franco-German tensions.
• Evaluate the significance of the Locarno Treaties (1925) in consolidating the post-war settlement by guaranteeing Germany's western borders.
• Analyse the failure of the Geneva Protocol (1924) as a missed opportunity for collective security and compulsory arbitration.
• Critique the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) as a symbolic gesture of conciliation that lacked enforcement mechanisms for genuine disarmament.
• 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.
• Identify Mussolini's desire for 'spazio vitale' and imperial expansion in Africa to boost domestic support and international prestige.
• Explain Japan's economic motivations for expansion into Manchuria, driven by the need for raw materials and markets following the 1929 Wall Street Crash.
• Analyse Hitler's foreign policy aims, specifically the dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles, rearmament, and the pursuit of 'Lebensraum'.
• Evaluate how the combined revisionist ambitions of these three nations shifted the global balance of power away from the League of Nations' leading democracies.
• Analyse the structural and membership weaknesses of the League that hindered decisive action in Manchuria, such as the absence of the USA and the requirement for unanimous decisions.
• Explain how British and French self-interest, particularly the desire to maintain Italy as an ally against Germany, undermined the response to the Abyssinian Crisis.
• Evaluate the failure of economic sanctions in Abyssinia, noting the exclusion of vital resources like oil and the continued use of the Suez Canal by Italian forces.
• Assess the long-term consequences of these crises, specifically how they emboldened Hitler and Mussolini, leading to the Rome-Berlin Axis and the definitive collapse of collective security.

• 💡Use the phrase 'Spirit of Locarno' to evaluate whether the period represented genuine conciliation or merely a temporary illusion of peace funded by US loans.
• 💡Link the Dawes Plan directly to the political success of Locarno, demonstrating how economic stability was a prerequisite for diplomatic progress.
• 💡Contrast the idealistic aims of the Kellogg-Briand Pact with the practical failure to achieve binding disarmament agreements during this period.
• 💡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.
• 💡Use specific terminology like 'Lebensraum' for Germany and 'spazio vitale' for Italy to demonstrate precise historical knowledge.
• 💡When evaluating the changing balance of power, contrast the growing military strength of these revisionist states with the reluctance of Britain and France to rearm.
• 💡Link the domestic pressures within Italy, Japan, and Germany to their aggressive foreign policy decisions during this period.
• 💡Use the Hoare-Laval Pact as a prime example of how the self-interest of major powers directly contradicted and undermined the principles of collective security.
• 💡Compare the reasons for failure in both crises to build a strong analytical argument about the inherent flaws of the League of Nations.
• 💡Explicitly link the failure in Abyssinia to the subsequent aggressive actions of Germany, such as the remilitarisation of the Rhineland.
• 💡Always differentiate between Eastern and Western Europe when evaluating peace pacts; examiners look for candidates who recognise that Locarno stabilized the West while leaving the East exposed.
• 💡Connect economic developments directly to diplomatic outcomes; for example, explain how the Wall Street Crash destroyed the financial scaffolding built by the Dawes and Young Plans, making political radicalisation inevitable.

• Confusing the Dawes Plan with the Young Plan; correct by noting the Dawes Plan (1924) provided immediate short-term relief and US loans, whereas the Young Plan (1929) restructured the total debt.
• Assuming the Kellogg-Briand Pact achieved actual disarmament; correct by explaining it was a renunciation of war that lacked any military or economic sanctions to enforce peace.
• Stating the Geneva Protocol was successfully implemented; correct by identifying that Britain rejected it, leading to its collapse and demonstrating the limits of League authority.
• Claiming the Lausanne Conference successfully resolved all international debt; correct by noting it only suspended German reparations, while the USA still demanded repayment of Allied war debts.
• Confusing the aims of the two conferences; correct 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; correct by explicitly linking the conference's collapse to Roosevelt's prioritisation of domestic recovery over international cooperation.
• Treating the ambitions of the three powers as identical; correction: distinguish between Japan's immediate economic drivers, Germany's ideological and territorial aims, and Italy's focus on prestige and Mediterranean dominance.
• Assuming Germany was the sole threat to peace before 1935; correction: acknowledge that Japan and Italy actively destabilised the international order earlier, such as in Manchuria in 1931.
• Ignoring the impact of the Great Depression; correction: explicitly link the economic crisis of the 1930s to the rise of militarism and the acceleration of expansionist ambitions in all three nations.
• Confusing the timelines and details of the two crises; correction: clearly separate the Manchurian Crisis (1931, Lytton Report, Japan) from the Abyssinian Crisis (1935, Hoare-Laval Pact, Italy).
• Stating the League did absolutely nothing; correction: specify that the League did act through moral condemnation and limited sanctions, but these actions were fundamentally ineffective.
• Blaming the failure solely on the League's structure; correction: balance structural weaknesses with the lack of political will from leading members, particularly Britain and France.
• Assuming Stresemann was an ardent pacifist: Stresemann was a committed German nationalist whose moderate diplomacy was an expedient tool to revise Versailles, recover the Polish Corridor, and end foreign occupation without provoking a military confrontation Germany could not win.
• Believing the League of Nations operated independently of major powers: The League possessed no standing military force and relied completely on the political will and armed forces of Britain and France, who repeatedly prioritized national and imperial interests over collective security.

1. 1Week 1 (Days 1–3): Master the recovery mechanisms (Dawes Plan 1924, Locarno Treaties 1925, Germany entering League 1926) and assess Stresemann's revisionist aims.
2. 2Week 1 (Days 4–7): Evaluate the late 1920s peace pacts (Kellogg-Briand 1928, Young Plan 1929) versus underlying structural economic vulnerabilities.
3. 3Week 2 (Days 1–4): Analyse the impact of the Wall Street Crash (1929–1932) on collective security, the Manchurian Crisis, and the 1932–1934 Geneva Disarmament Conference.
4. 4Week 2 (Days 5–7): Practice 25-mark essay planning comparing the relative importance of economic collapse versus fundamental flaws in 1920s diplomacy.

• 📋25-mark Evaluative Essays: Typically require evaluating the extent of success in maintaining peace (e.g., 'How far was the period 1924–1929 an era of genuine stability?').
• 📋Comparative Analysis Questions: Weighing the relative importance of various factors (e.g., assessing whether the Great Depression or weaknesses in the League of Nations was the primary cause of diplomatic breakdown).