Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-788cddb947-jbkpb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-09T10:26:51.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - Counterfactuals and Conclusions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2022

G. C. Peden
Affiliation:
University of Stirling
Get access

Summary

A counterfactual of what might have happened if Churchill rather than Chamberlain had become chancellor and then prime minister is used to compare the two men. The evidence suggests foreign policy would have differed little before 1938. Like Chamberlain, Churchill would have prioritised the German threat over the Japanese, and would have tried to gain Italian support. Nor would he have used force to reverse Hitler’s occupation of the Rhineland or the Anschluss. On the other hand, Churchill’s approach to Czechoslovakia was fundamentally different from Chamberlain’s, being based on collective security rather than bilateral negotiations with Hitler. It is uncertain, however, whether an effective alliance could have been constructed to deter Germany. Churchill would have rearmed more rapidly than Chamberlain, being more willing to take risks with the economy, but both men prioritised the air force over the army, and for technical reasons British air power was not formidable in 1938. The question of whether it would have been better nevertheless to fight in 1938 rather than 1939 cannot be answered with certainty. Chamberlain’s personal diplomacy undoubtedly had serious shortcomings, but there is room for disagreement on moral issues associated with the Churchillian alternative, including the sacrifice of Ethiopia; the use of war as an instrument of foreign policy, particularly when public opinion was not united; and the risk of allowing Stalin to decide whether there should be peace or war.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×