A counterfactual British defence policy in the 1920s and 1930s provides a test of the choices made in real history. Considering a plausible alternative helps explain the actual decision because historians have to weigh the benefits, costs, and consequences of paths that were available but not taken. Reconstructing the strongest case for a rejected option reveals more about contemporary priorities than simply listing why that option failed. Surviving explanations can be selective about the motives they reveal, leaving room for competing interpretations. The exercise asks what happened and why contemporary actors preferred one feasible course over another.
Chapter · 0:58-7:29
Using alternate history to examine real decisions
Considering plausible alternatives helps explain why historical decision-makers chose one policy and rejected another.