The confidence surrounding naval disarmament in 1930 was not unique to that generation. Similar claims after the Napoleonic Wars and the Cold War held that major conflict had finally been overcome. The repetition makes this a recurring historical pattern rather than an irrationality peculiar to interwar statesmen. It also explains why the London settlement could appear reasonable on assumptions many contemporaries shared, even though later events discredited them.
Notable Point · 42:03-42:52
Why declarations that major war has ended keep recurring
Claims of lasting peace followed the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Cold War.