Essay On British Foreign Policy

During the years 1933-37 Britain’s foreign policy was to appease potential enemies to sustain peace. This policy was particularly emphasised when Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and began to reverse the Treaty of Versailles. It was also highlighted by Neville Chamberlain becoming Prime Minister in 1937, as he believed strongly in appeasement. This policy can be seen to be weak and ineffective because of the way that the British dealt with the Abyssinian Crisis in 1935 and Hitler’s early moves when he first came to power. However if the context is taken in to account, it may seem understandable that the British would want to avoid war at all costs because of their limited armed forces and strong anti-war feelings amongst the general public. Despite this, the policy did seem to be weak and ineffective.
British foreign policy can be seen to be weak during this time period because of Britain’s attitude towards Hitler and Mussolini. Initially, when Hitler became Chancellor he immediately began to secretly ream – a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Britain’s response proved to be weak because the …show more content…
They failed in attempting to contain Hitler and to stop Mussolini from allying with Hitler which happened in the Rome-Berlin Axis. The British also dealt with the Abyssinian Crisis very badly as it alienated Mussolini and undermined the League of Nations particularly because of the Hoare-Laval Pact. Because of public opinion, Britain were unable to act aggressively towards Hitler and Mussolini and so the policy of appeasement was put in to place. The ’10 Year Rule’ and limited rearmament meant that Britain had barely any armed forces and an unstable economic situation after The Great Depression. British foreign policy failed to solve any of Europe’s problems and divisions and therefore was weak and