appeasement

Appeasement is a diplomatic policy of making concessions to an aggressor in order to avoid conflict. In international relations, it is most closely associated with British and French policy toward Nazi Germany in the 1930s, though variations of the approach have appeared at other times. The aim was to prevent a larger war by addressing some demands through negotiation and compromise, in the belief that disputes could be resolved peacefully without military confrontation.

Origins and motives for appeasement include post–World War I disillusionment, fears of renewed conflict, economic constraints, and a conviction that the memory of the Great War made governments reluctant to risk another large-scale war. Supporters argued that a firm but patient policy could buy time for rearmament and foster stability through concessions. Critics maintained that appeasement encouraged aggression by legitimizing it, undermining alliances, and failing to deter expansionist powers.

Key episodes in the 1930s include the Munich Agreement of 1938, in which Britain and France allowed Germany to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. The subsequent invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia and, less than a year later, the invasion of Poland in 1939 led many to view appeasement as a failure to deter aggression and a factor that precipitated a wider war.

The concept remains debated in diplomatic thought. Some view appeasement as a pragmatic attempt to avert war under difficult conditions, while others see it as an ethical compromise and a strategic miscalculation that undermined allies and emboldened aggressors.