Sally Marks – författare

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.

In a space of little over 30 years, the world was transformed. The European great powers were no longer ascendant, even if that was not yet fully revealed to them, and the US, a regional power as of 1914, now belonged to the wholly new category of "superpower." What happened in this short period to work such a dramatic change? The answer lies neither in Europe alone nor in the West more broadly, and one of the virtues of this bold new international history of the period that Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America are allowed to play their parts. It treats the Asian and European crises and wars of 1931-45, for example, as a single interlocking whole, as world leaders at the time were forced to do. It also acknowledges to an unusual degree the importance of imperial and economic circumstances in framing the policies of states towards one another.

German violation of Belgian neutrality escalated the 1914 hostilities into a world war, and disagreement about Belgium's future did much to block a compromise peace. In the postwar decade, Belgium's role as intermediary between France and Britain was pivotal, and its primary concerns reveal mush about postwar Europe's search for stability. Yet, at the Paris Peace Conference, Belgium emerged with little to show for its suffering.A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.