Australia and Appeasement Imperial Foreign Policy and the Origins of World War II

by Waters, Christopher

• ISBN13: 9781848859982
• ISBN10: 1848859988
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-12-15
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

The strategic, political and moral threats posed by the rise of fascist regimes in Germany and Italy were so severe that all the democratic governments faced a myriad of challenges during the 1930s. Australia, as part of the British Empire, was no exception. Christopher Waters here examines Australia's role in Britain's policy of appeasement from the time Hitler came to power in 1933 through to the declaration of war on 3rd September 1939. Focusing on five leading figures in the Australian governments of the 1930s, it examines their responses to the rise of Hitler and the growing threat of fascism in Europe. Australian governments accepted the principle that the Empire must speak with one voice on foreign policy and Australian political leaders were therefore intimately involved in the decisions taken by successive governments in London. As such, this book not only describes the Australian role in these events, but also provides new insights into the Chamberlain government's reactions to the developments in Europe. Australia and Appeasement provides an important and original study of the making of imperial foreign policy in the inter'war era and will be invaluable reading for researchers of Australian and imperial history and for anyone interested in the origins of World War II.

Author Biography

Christopher Waters is Senior Lecturer in Twentieth Century International History at Deakin University, Australia. He has published widely on Australian international history, Anglo-Australian relations, and Australian political history. His publications include The Empire Fractures: Anglo-Australian Conflict in the 1940s; Evatt to Evans: The Labor Tradition in Australian Foreign Policy (joint editor); and Ministers, Mandarins and Diplomats: Australian Foreign Policy Making 1941-1969 (co-author). A review in the Canberra Times described The Empire Fractures as "a most impressive first book."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vi
Introduction	p. 1
The Origins of the Imperial Appeasement Policy	p. 5
Friendship with AH: Australia's Radical Appeasement Plan	p. 20
Implementing Appeasement: Chamberlain, Bruce and Lyons	p. 33
Menzies Embraces Appeasement	p. 53
Not Worth a War: The Sudetenland Crisis	p. 72
Back from the Brink of War: The Australian Intervention	p. 98
Putsuing General Appeasement: Munich to Prague	p. 128
Persisting with Appeasement: Prague to Danzig	p. 152
To Negotiate or Fight? The Polish Crisis	p. 186
Last Days to War: Reluctant Warriors	p. 214
A Judgement	p. 243
Notes	p. 267
Select Bibliography	p. 295
Index	p. 303
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