The Death of Deterrence, or How To Lose A War Without Firing A Shot
From Raymond Aron’s Peace and War (1966): In 1938 France tried to deter Hitler from attacking Czechoslovakia: Hitler was not impressed, and Frenchmen and Englishmen preferred Czech capitulation to the risk of having to carry out their commitments, i.e., their threat. In 1939 Great Britian took the initiative of signing a mutual assistance treaty with Poland in the hope of deterring Hitler by...