Infrastructure is an unavoidable strategic gamble. Investment may fail to secure the hoped-for political support, while neglect can leave a power unable to defend territories it still owns. Colonial and Dominion policy therefore required decisions under uncertainty instead of waiting for cooperation to become guaranteed. Interwar indecision also reflected sharply different memories of the First World War, including French and British trauma, German revisionism, Italian grievance, Japanese confidence, and American ambivalence. Strategic suggestions matter only when governments turn them into funded decisions.
Chapter · 1:25-4:52
Infrastructure as a strategic gamble
Why imperial infrastructure required decisions under uncertainty rather than endless discussion about whether colonies would cooperate.