Briand-Kellogg Pact (1928)

We explain what the Briand-Kellogg Pact of 1928 was. Also, its consequences and its main protagonists.

What was the Briand-Kellogg Pact?

The Briand Kellogg Pact was an international agreement signed in the interwar period with the intention to eliminate war as a method of conflict resolution. It was signed on August 27, 1928 by fifteen countries at the initiative of the Foreign Ministers of France (Aristide Briand) and the United States (Frank B. Kellogg). Other nations later signed it. By 1929, more than sixty countries had joined the pact.

The Briand Kellogg Pact was one of the main attempts to guarantee peaceful relations between States after the First World War (1914-1918) and prevent the outbreak of a new war in Europe. Among the signatories were the great powers of the time, such as France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union.

Despite the pacifist intentions of the Briand Kellogg Pact, the lack of mechanisms to force governments to respect its provisions led to In practice it would be ineffective. The 1930s were a new era of militarism that soon led to the outbreak of World War II (1939-1945).

The historical context

After the end of the First World War in 1918, The first years of the interwar period were marked by peace negotiations and discussions about war reparations imposed on defeated countries, especially Germany.

In the mid-1920s it began a stage of détente in relations between France and Germanywhich until then had been plagued by disagreements over payments of war reparations. Along with this new climate of political cooperation, a stage of economic recovery took place. This context facilitated the establishment of more friendly diplomatic relations.

In 1919, the League of Nations had been created, an association of countries that had the objective of guaranteeing peaceful relations between States after the devastation of the First World War. However, the United States government did not ratify its entry into the League of Nations.

In 1927, the French foreign minister sought to engage the United States in a pact to eliminate war as international policy and avoid a new conflict with Germany.

The consequences of the Briand-Kellogg Pact

The French Foreign Minister, Aristide Briand, sought establish an alliance with the United States with the aim of stopping a possible return of German expansionism. To that end, in 1927 he proposed to the US government a bilateral non-aggression pact that prohibited war as a method for resolving conflicts.

Encouraged by the more pacifist and less isolationist opinion of his country, the Secretary of State of the United States, Frank B. Kellogg, proposed that the pact become a multilateral treaty, That is, it involved many countries. Briand accepted and On August 27, 1928, the pact was signed by fifteen countries.

As a result of Kellogg's proposal, the governments of almost every nation in the world signed the Briand-Kellogg Pact over the following days and By 1929 the signatory countries were 62. By signing the pact, the governments agreed to renounce war as an instrument of international policy and to resolve all international conflicts peacefully.

There were multiple nuances to this commitment, such as: war in self-defense, military obligations arising from the Covenant of the League of Nations, the Monroe Doctrine or the alliance treaties agreed upon after the First World War.

The existence of these exceptions and the fact that The pact did not establish any method to force its complianceled to the Briand-Kellogg Pact being ineffective.

The protagonists of the Briand-Kellogg Pact

Frank B. Kellogg (1856-1937)

Frank B. Kellogg was Secretary of State of the United States Government between 1925 and 1929. Previously he was a senator (1917-1923) and ambassador to the United Kingdom (1923-1925).

Kellogg pursued an isolationist policy. Kellogg pursued an isolationist policy, although he also attempted to collaborate (unsuccessfully) on an international agreement to limit naval arms at the Geneva Conference of 1927.

In 1928, the French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand proposed a bilateral pact. that declared war illegal as a diplomatic instrument. Kellogg delayed his response but, finally, under pressure from Americans who were in favor of “illegalizing war,” agreed to sign the Briand-Kellogg Pact in August 1928 and promoted the accession of 62 countries to it.

Although in practice the pact proved ineffective in its goal of ending wars, Kellogg received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929. He died in 1937.

Aristide Briand (1862-1932)

Aristide Briand was a French politician who He served several times as President of the Council of Ministers.. He also held various ministerial positions, such as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1925 and 1932.

In his functions as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Briand He opted for détente and cooperation with Germany. He participated in the signing of the Locarno Treaties together with the Foreign Ministers of Germany and the United Kingdom and was in favor of the construction of European unity.

In 1926 he received the Nobel Peace Prize together with his German counterpart, Gustav Stresemann. In 1928 he signed the Briand-Kellogg Pact.. He died in March 1932.

References

• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Aristide Briand. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Frank B. Kellogg. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Kellogg-Briand Pact. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
• Cabrera, M., Juliá, S. & Martín Aceña, P. (comps.) (1991). Europe in crisis. 1919-1939. Pablo Iglesias Editorial.
• Sevillano Calero, F. (2020). Europe between the wars. The disrupted order. Synthesis.