The Great Interwar Crisis and the Collapse of Globalization

Challenging the standard narrative of Interwar International History, this account establishes the causal relationship between the global political and economic crises of the period, and offers a radically new look at the role of ideology, racism and the leading liberal powers in the events between the First and Second World Wars.

'This is a splendid piece of scholarship, finely written, exhaustively researched, and interpretively bold. With his emphasis upon the symbiotic relationship of economics and politics, Boyce sees in the late 1920s the real beginnings of the drift toward a new war, and the Anglo-Americans as especially important players in that slow-motion collapse.'

- Robert J. Young, University of Winnipeg

'Robert Boyce merits the gratitude of all students of the 1930s for his ambitious effort to bring economics and finance together with diplomacy. In offering this exquisitely detailed and lavishly footnoted volume to the public, Boyce faced a difficult strategic choice. He could have simplified the argument, cut the text to half the length, abbreviated the notes, and addressed a general audience. Instead, he chose to give scholars the unabridged benefit of his strenuous archival labors. The book thus constitutes a vast quarry in which the specialist will find a wealth of material to use and reprocess'

- Stephen A. Schuker, H-Diplo

'The subject of Robert Boyce's thoughtful, deeply researched book is the failure of the victor powers in the First World War to create effective mechanisms to ensure global stability. '

- History Today, Adam I.P. Smith, Senior Lecturer in History at UCL

ROBERT BOYCE taught International History at the London School of Economics, UK, for many years as well as at the University of Toronto, Canada,and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, France. He is a member of the scientific committee of the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme at Dijon, France.