First Phase Of International Relations And Treaty example essay topic

Introduction: International relations between the two world wars fall into two distinct phases, with the division at January 1933, the month in which Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. The statesmen of the world had only limited success in improving international relations. With the treaties signed by European governments in the decade after WWI, the old hostilities and suspicions surfaced again, and authoritarian regimes came to power. The first phase of international relations and treaty signing can be divided roughly into three 1919-1923, 1924-1929, and 1930-1933. Paragraph 1: Most of the peace treaties, signed right after the war, resulted in instability in many countries allowing for authoritarian regime to take control. The most important is the Treaty of Versailles in which Germany had little choice but to sign it even though they objected strongly.

German had to lose many territories in Europe including Alsace-Lorraine to France. Germany also had to pay 6600 million and the country's military strength was completely weakened by terms of disarmament. The conditions in Germany allowed for Hitler and his authoritarian regime to come into power. Other treaties include both the Treaty of St. Germain and the Treaty of Trianon which deals with Austria and Hungary respectively left the countries with serious economic problems.

Austria had lost most of its industrial wealth to Czechoslovakia and Poland. It was soon facing several economic crises and was constantly having to be helped out by loans from the League of Nations. Hungary's population was reduced from 21 million to 7.5 million, and some of her richest corn land was lost to Romania. An attempt by Lloyd George to reconcile France and Germany at the 1922 Genoa Conference failed miserably. Attitudes towards German recovery strained relations between Britain and France. The Genoa Conference of 1922 failed miserably: the French refused all compromise and insisted on full reparations payments from Germany; the Americans refused to attend, and the Russians and Germans withdrew and signed a mutual agreement at Rapallo.

At Rapallo, the two countries canceled all prewar debts and renounced war claims When the following year, the Germans refused to pay the amount due, French troops occupied the Ruhr, and deadlock quickly developed when the Germans responded with passive resistance. Paragraph 2: In the second phase of international relation after the First World War and before 1933, there was a general improvement in the international atmosphere partly by changes in the political relationship. After 1925, there was increasing reliance on regional agreements rather than the League of Nations to support international security. From the point of view of France, this was made all the more urgent by the Treaty of Rapallo of 1922. This 'unholy alliance' between Russia and Germany restored relations between the two states and this caused a treat to the Allies. 1925 saw the signing of the Locarno Treaties which guaranteed the frontiers in Western Europe fixed at Versailles; this seemed to remove French suspicions of German intentions.

In 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League, and in the same year the 'easterners' amongst German diplomatic circle produced the renewal of the Treaty of Rapallo. Germany's ambitions in the east persisted even though the Locarno treaties temporarily guarantee the borders between Germany and France and Belgium by Britain, Italy, France, Belgium and Germany. Then in 1928, the Kellog-Briand Pact was signed between 65 nations to renounce war. Paragraph 3: Towards the end of 1929, the world began to run into economic difficulties which helped to cause a deterioration in international relations. During the World Disarmament Conference (1932-1933) the German delegates walked out, and the conference broke up in failure.

Even though two years prior, the Kellog-Briand Pact was signed, the attitude of renouncing war did not reflect in any progress. All League members had undertaken to reduce armaments when they accepted the Covenant, the basis of the League which was included in the Treaty of Versailles and the other peace treaties. Articles 8 and 9 recognized the need for disarmament and set up military commissions. In fact, Germany was the only state to disarm, as Stresemann regularly pointed out.

The French alarmed by the rapid increase in support for the Nazis in Germany, refused either to disarm or to allow Germany equality of armament with them. Hitler, knowing that Britain and Italy sympathized with Germany, withdrew from the conference in October 1933. Conclusion: During 1919-1933, many treaties were signed that dealt with reparations, borders of countries in Europe, and alliances between countries, however by the end France and Germany's relationship still remained hostile. With the Rapallo Treaty, Russia and Germany created an alliance of their own which restored relations between the two states. The disarmament issue was never dealt with equality because for Germany to disarm meant that France's security would strength. The "Locarno spirit" cultivated in the Kellog-Briand Pact depended on economic prosperity which the St. Germain, the Treaty of Trianon, and the Treaty of Versailles did not create.

The spirit proved to be an illusion because only three years later, even though it did not occur in Europe, the Japanese, who signed the pact, attacked Manchuria and this pact felt short. A week later after the end of the World Disarmament Conference, Germany withdrew from the League of Nations..