IB History Resources: The Inter-War Years' International Relations

This new edition of focuses on the key issues of the period between the First and Second World Wars. Incorporating up-to-date historical interpretations, the author addresses questions such as, 'Why were there no major conflicts in the 1920s?', 'Why did the League of Nations fail?' and 'What were the key factors that led to the outbreak of war in 1939?'. Particular attention is given to the impact of the treaties that were agreed at the end of the First World War and the intense diplomatic negotiations that preceded the start of the Second World War. The study guides have been revised in line with the requirements of AS and A2, and provide a firm basis for answering source-based, extended-writing and essay questions

Sally Marks provides a compelling analysis of European diplomacy between the First World War and Hitler's advent. She explores in clear and lively prose the reasons why successive efforts failed to create a lasting peace in the interwar era. Building on the theories of the first edition - many of which have become widely accepted since its publication in 1976 - Marks reassesses Europe's leaders of the period, and the policies of the powers between 1918 and 1933, and beyond. Strongly interpretative and archivally based, The Illusion of Peace examines the emotional, ethnic, and economic factors responsible for international instability, as well as the distortion of the balance of power, the abnormal position of the Soviet Union, the weakness of France and the uncertainty of her relationship with Britain, and the inadequacy of the League of Nations. In so doing, the study clarifies the complex topics of reparations and war debts and challenges traditional assumptions, concluding that widespread western devotion to disarmament and dedication to peace were two of several reasons why democratic statesmen could not respond decisively to Hitler's threat. In this new edition Marks also argues that the Allied failure to bring defeat home to the German people in 1918-19 generated a resentment which contributed to interwar instability and Hitler's rise. This highly successful study has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest scholarship. Now in its second edition, it remains the essential introduction to the tense political and diplomatic situation in Europe during the interwar years.

A new edition of this popular study which offers broad analysis of the complex events leading to World War Two. Richard Overy provides a multi-national explanation for the outbreak of hostilities, placing the war in the context of imperial rivalry, economic pressures and domestic politics as the victors of World War One wrestled to avoid a Second.

The European Dictatorships describes the course of dictatorship in Europe before and during the Second World War and examines the phenomenon of dictatorship itself and the widely different forms it can take. From the notorious dictatorships of Mussolini, Hitler and Stalin, to less-known states and leaders this book scrutinizes the experiences of: *Russia *Germany *Italy *Spain and Portugal *Central and Eastern European states such as Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Austria and Albania *Norway With clear, detailed and highly accessible descriptions and analysis, this is an essential and invaluable introduction to the study and understanding of the tumultuous events of early twentieth century Europe.