War in Spain: Appeasement, Collective Insecurity, and the Failure of European Democracies Against Fascism

The League of Nations and the Non-Intervention Committee were two organizations that took multilateral action towards the War in Spain. France and the United Kingdom diverted deliberations and decision-making processes from Geneva, and non-intervention was articulated with the main objective to confine the conflict to the Spanish borders. The failure of the collective security system led to a climate of collective insecurity and the Second World War. This scholarship is essential for scholars of the interwar years crisis, twentieth-century Spanish history, and international relations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The War in Spain holds significant international importance, as it was marked by two significant organizations: the League of Nations and the Non-Intervention Committee. These organizations played pivotal roles in shaping the multilateral action towards the conflict. However, France and the United Kingdom, as major powers, diverted both deliberations and decision-making processes from Geneva, undermining the authority of the League.

The concept of "non-intervention" was applied to Spain, although it paradoxically meant an intervention that deprived the Spanish government of its own defense while the fascist governments provided massive and regular support to the rebels. This policy of appeasement aimed to confine the conflict to the Spanish borders, but it had unintended consequences.

The League's authority was further damaged when it violated its Covenant in Manchuria and Abyssinia. Once the War in Spain began, non-intervention was articulated with the primary objective of confining the conflict to the Spanish borders. To achieve this, it was essential to designate the conflict as a civil war, rather than a mere nominal or anecdotal issue, both in London and Geneva. By abandoning the Spanish democracy and foreclosing the collective security system, European democracies were effectively removing all that stood between their own societies and another world war.

The failure of the collective security system that the League was supposed to safeguard, prompted by the impossibility of reconciling the British-led policy of appeasement with active anti-fascism, led to a climate of collective insecurity. This insecurity gave rise to a Second World War, precisely the main objective that the international order established in 1919 after the catastrophic First World War aimed to avoid.

The scholarship presented herein is of utmost importance for scholars of the interwar years crisis, twentieth-century Spanish history, and international relations. It sheds light on the complex dynamics and consequences of the War in Spain and its impact on the global political landscape. By examining the actions and decisions of these organizations, scholars can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by nations in times of conflict and crisis.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367555214