Why security matters to treaty enforcement

The postwar 'never again' conviction encouraged negotiators to treat the removal of weapons as a direct route to peace. This critique asks how limits can survive when the signatories believe those limits leave them insecure. Voluntary compliance depends on their acceptance of the bargain, while enforcing a peace treaty through war contradicts its purpose. Britain faces imperial commitments with a reduced fleet, Japan regards its ratio as a political slight, and the United States retains a slow battle line. The American construction pause is also linked to weakened industrial capacity and an urgent rebuilding effort before 1941. Hawaii's shortage of reconnaissance aircraft provides a specific example of the resulting readiness concerns. The estimate gives reconnaissance coverage of only 60 degrees, compared with a full 360-degree search or at least roughly 240 degrees toward the expected threat.