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What was International Diplomacy Like in the 1920s?

Exam code: 2147
Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

The Washington Naval Agreement, 1922

The Washington Naval Agreement, 1922

What is International Diplomacy?

  • International diplomacy is how countries communicate and work together

    • This takes the form of negotiating alliances, treaties and agreements

  • When a country has a friendly foreign policy, international diplomacy is good

  • When a country has an aggressive foreign policy, they do not want to make compromises, which affects diplomacy

  • During the 1920s, international diplomacy was good

  • However, countries made agreements outside of the League’s influence. This was because:

    • Important nations like the USA, the USSR and Germany were not members

    • The League was slow at making decisions

The Washington Naval Agreement, 1922

Aims

Countries

Terms

Significance

  • Limit Japanese imperialism

  • Ease tensions in the Asia Pacific region

  • Work towards naval disarmament

The USA,

Britain,

Italy and Japan

An additional agreement made with Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and China

  • Restrictions on the building of battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers

  • Britain and the USA limited to ships weighing up to 533,000 tonnes

  • Japan limited to ships weighing up to 320,000 tonnes

  • The first treaty to encourage disarmament

  • Britain, France, Japan and Italy attended as individual countries rather than League representatives

  • Did not restrict the number of ships. This encouraged the development of lighter warships

The Rapallo Treaty, 1922

The Rapallo Treaty, 1922

Aims

Countries

Terms

Significance

  • Rebuild both countries' reputations after the First World War

  • Resolve the USSR’s issues with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (1917)

Germany and the USSR

  • End of the USSR’s reparations to Germany

  • Trading agreements between the two countries

  • The USSR would allow German soldiers to train secretly. The USSR also allowed German  rearmament factories

  • Friendly diplomatic relations established

  • Angered the Allies due to Germany making alliances without permission

  • The treaty was conducted secretly, undermining the League of Nations

The Locarno Treaty, 1925

The Locarno Treaty, 1925

Aims

Countries

Terms

Significance

  • Improve the international reputation of Germany

  • To avoid conflict with France. Their relationship had worsened after the French invasion of the Ruhr in 1923

Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium

  • France and Germany promised to keep peace with each other

  • Germany accepted its western borders as stated in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles

  • All members promised to keep the Rhineland demilitarised

  • To explore the possibility of admitting Germany into the League of Nations

  • The acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles infuriated the extremist parties in Germany

  • Germany entered into the treaty as an equal to the Allies. It was not a diktat

  • In September 1926, Germany became a member of the League. Additional countries in the League strengthened it as an organisation

Three men in formal attire shake hands in a cartoon titled "The Clasp of Friendship (French Version)" with "The Pact" written on the ground. It shows French Foreign Minister, Aristide Briand, with a boxing glove behind his back
A political cartoon called ‘Treaty of Locarno’ by David Low, 5th September 1925. It shows French Foreign Minister, Aristide Briand, with a boxing glove behind his back

The Dawes Plan, 1925

The Dawes Plan, 1924

Aims

Countries

Terms

Significance

  • Hyperinflation in 1923 led the Allies to consider reducing Germany’s reparation bill

  • Improve German industry and trading

Germany and the USA

Created by Charles G. Dawes, an American banker

  • The temporary reduction of reparations to £50 million a year

  • A guarantee of US bank loans for German industry

  • Reparations became more manageable and trust between the Allies and Germany improved

  • Stresemann called off the passive resistance in the Ruhr and France agreed to leave

  • The US gave $25 billion to German industry from 1924 to 1930

  • Germany’s industrial output increased by 50% between 1923 and 1928

  • Generally accepted in Germany but infuriated the extremist parties

Diagram of the Dawes Plan

A flow diagram showing the cycle of loans and payments between countries after World War I.

At the top: "Loans" is written with an arrow pointing to Germany, which has a German flag beneath it.

From Germany, an arrow labelled "Reparations" points to Britain and France, shown with their national flags.

From Britain and France, an arrow labelled "War Loans Repaid" points to the USA, shown with an American flag.

From the USA, an arrow labelled "Loans" loops back to Germany, completing the cycle.

This shows how money circulated: the USA loaned money to Germany, Germany paid reparations to Britain and France, and Britain and France used that money to repay their war debts to the USA.
A diagram illustrating how the Dawes Plan economically connected Britain, France and Germany to the USA
  • The Dawes Plan was risky

    • Britain, France and Germany were gambling their economies on the USA’s prosperity

    • In 1929, Stresemann stated that Germany was “dancing on a volcano”. If the USA recalled the loans or experienced a depression, the ‘volcano’ would erupt and destroy the stability of Weimar Germany

The Young Plan, 1929

The Young Plan, 1929

Aims

Countries

Terms

Significance

  • Provide further assistance to allow Germany to pay back its reparations

Germany and the USA

Created by Owen Young, an American banker

  • Reduction of the total reparations bill from £6.6 billion to £2 billion

  • The Allies states that reparations had to be fully repaid by 1988

  • The German government reduced taxes. Citizens could spend more, boosting German industry and creating more jobs

  • Improved relations between Germany and the Allies

  • France decided to leave the Rhineland in 1930

  • Outraged Germany's extremist parties. Hitler stated that the extension of the reparations deadline was “passing on the penalty to the unborn”

How Did International Diplomacy Impact the League of Nations?

  • The League encouraged other countries to pursue better international relations

    • The number of treaties agreed upon shows a positive political environment in the 1920s

  • Even in the 1920s, League members were bypassing the Assembly and Council

    • The League of Nations discussed issues but rarely developed solutions

  • League members entered the above treaties independently, not as representatives of the League

    • Wilson intended the League to lead the way in international agreements. Instead, it gained a reputation of words over actions

    • During the 1920s, countries began to ignore the League and pursue their own foreign policies