Peace promises and a pause to absorb wartime lessons

The treaty allows governments to present a visible commitment to peace between major powers. It also supports promises to direct money toward social and welfare programmes. Governments that prefer budget surpluses have another reason to welcome limits on naval expenditure. A more strategic rationale is a ten-year interval to digest wartime lessons before building the next generation. Industry and infrastructure would lose capacity during that pause and need attention before construction resumed. In this assessment, time to study wartime lessons is the strongest strategic case for the arrangement.