The Onset of WWII: A Failure of International Relations

Globalization had impacted economics drastically by the 20th century but international involvement did not seem to be taking as forceful a leap in politics and pacification as the onset of World War II began to materialize from decades of increasing tensions. The Treaty of Versailles was meant to act as a stipulation to prevent such global destruction and disarray from ensuing again. But less than twenty years later, Europe and the U.S. found themselves thrown back into such a war. There were many failures that contributed to the onset of WWII, but two important factors dealt with the weakness of international relations and the stubbornness of countries to forgo renovations to policies that had influenced the development of the first world war. The Versailles Treaty failed to promote a future of European pacification and instead instigated tensions by pinning Germany with the "guilt clause" that would stifle its economy and nationalism and encourage support for Hitler's radical government. The treaty additionally did not interfere or obstruct growing unrest. Western countries, including Britain and France, decided to turn a blind eye to the radicalism ensuing in the East, with Russia's communism and Germany's fascism. While the countries' reasoning to maintain policies of appeasement make sense to a certain degree--if you don't get involved, a global war cannot develop and hopefully the problem will remain contained--their policies also treaded on the countries' responsibilities in upholding the Versailles Treaty and remaining active participants in the League of Nations and as major European powers. Although the West's choice to distance itself from the growing disturbances in the East was one of many factors contributing to the onset of WWII, it is a significant factor in acknowledging the lessons learnt from WWI that Europe failed to uphold. WWI had shown that national incidents, for the most part, could not be recognized and could not be handled as isolated ones. Alliances, both politically and economically, changed the face of international relations and global involvement would become a constant in world affairs. Britain and France's policies of appeasement therefore ignored this modern principle. In order to maintain safety and stability in this new, globalized world, the West would have to interfere in affairs both within its borders and outside of them. The 20th century world was far too interconnected to continue to regard matters in an isolated light.