A hypothetical Italian cruiser built one thousand tons overweight raises the question of whether Britain or the United States would risk war to enforce a technical breach. Leaders would have to justify casualties and public expenditure over a displacement figure. An agreement without an impartial enforcement power depended on governments being willing to bear those costs. Its terms therefore had to give each participant a reason to comply in its own interest.
Notable Point · 27:46-30:30
Treaty limits and the problem of enforcement
Arms limits require more than signatures: governments must judge whether a violation is serious enough to enforce at real political cost.