Chapter Two: No Easy Answer Summary and Analysis

At the beginning of WWII, the right course of action was not as clear as it was viewed afterward. The Allies were not always allied. Although trouble was brewing early in the 1930s, the Allies chose to wait as they watched Italy's peak of power in the early '30s decline towards the end. While "appeasement" was blamed as the cause of war, no one explained, no one bothered to theorize about how things would have worked out better had they not "appeased" the enemy. Two competing theories about the ideal form of government were at war since WWI. Proponents of self-government opposed the theory that strong leaders were necessary for a strong nation. Between WWI and 1936, eleven countries opted for the strong leader, perceived to be a direct threat to the other...