Interwar Peace: Fragility and Diplomacy
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The Fragility of Peace
The peace imposed split Europe between states in favor of preserving the principles of Versailles and those who wished to revise them in their favor.
Thus, the international situation was compromised by new challenges. The United States adopted an isolationist stance and did not ratify the agreements.
Germany, deeply humiliated, persisted in its claim for a review in its favor of the conditions imposed by the treaty.
Given the instability that the new situation would provide, the League of Nations (SDN) was created in Paris.
The League of Nations introduced a new conception of diplomacy as an open system of relations between states, but it did not fully convince France or Italy. Some operational problems soon began to manifest the poor functioning of the SDN in tackling problems during the interwar period.
5 The Locarno Pact
In 1925, in an attempt to improve international relations, representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy held a conference in Locarno where a pact was signed at the initiative of the German Minister G. Stresemann and the French Minister A. Briand.
The Locarno Pact sealed the Franco-German reconciliation, whereby Germany accepted the delineation of the borders with Belgium and France that had emerged from the Treaty of Versailles, and France agreed to evacuate the Ruhr area.
This agreement was facilitated by the Dawes Plan, which had been signed earlier. This plan was supported by the U.S. in order to facilitate the payment of German war reparations.
The Spirit of Locarno
The so-called spirit of Locarno was imbued with the desire to ensure peace and security for states. This ushered in a general stage of relaxation driven by the diplomatic work of French Socialist leader Briand. He also persuaded the U.S. Secretary of State to sign a declaration with France accepting peace and condemning war, known as the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
The growing leadership of Briand led the British and the Germans to mistrust future French hegemony. In Central Europe and the Balkan area, border issues were raised.