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Difficulty: EasyInterwar Foreign Policy and Road to World War II

"The High Contracting Parties solemnly declare in the names of their respective peoples that they condemn recourse to war for the solution of international controversies, and renounce it, as an instrument of national policy in their relations with one another."

— Treaty for the Renunciation of War (Kellogg-Briand Pact), 1928

Which of the following best explains a major limitation of the agreement excerpted above?

  1. It lacked any enforcement mechanisms to punish nations that violated the treaty.Answer
  2. B
    It required the United States to join the League of Nations and engage in collective military action.
  3. C
    It was rejected by the United States Senate due to concerns over foreign alliances.
  4. D
    It established a mutual defense alliance between the United States and Latin American nations.

Answer

It lacked any enforcement mechanisms to punish nations that violated the treaty.
The correct answer is correct because the Kellogg-Briand Pact relied entirely on moral persuasion and had no enforcement mechanisms, sanctions, or military backing to deter nations from going to war.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document.
The document is the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, in which signatory nations agreed to renounce war as an instrument of national policy.
Understanding the context of the treaty is essential to identifying its limits.
2
Recall the historical outcome and limitations of the treaty.
Although signed by dozens of nations, the treaty had no provisions for enforcing its terms or punishing aggressive nations, leading to its failure in preventing the rise of militarism in the 1930s.
This links the text of the treaty directly to its primary structural weakness.

Key Concept

The Kellogg-Briand Pact reflected the 1920s United States foreign policy goal of promoting peace through international agreements while avoiding binding collective security commitments.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Interwar Foreign Policy and Road to World War II

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