When Diplomacy Fails presents a master's dissertation by Zach Twomley Chapter 2.

Honor in the interventionist camp By summer 1914, Great Britain, France and Russia were associated in a loose political arrangement, termed the triple-ontent.

Having cultivated closer relations with France since 2004 when the Entente Cordial was signed,

British foreign policy had then moved towards more amicable relations

with Russia in 1907 with the Anglo-Russian Convention.

However, such arrangements did not constitute an alliance.

The Russian agreement in particular was designed purely to solve colonial disputes and

notify what were perceived as Russian threats to Britain's

empire. Yet, because of this association, Britain's foreign policy soon became intertwined with the

Franco-German rivalry, and in 1906 and 11, various crises forced British policymakers to stand with France against German pressure.

Podcast footnote. These crises were the various Moroccan crises, more specifically, Tangier and Al Jazeera.

In both cases, German underestimation of the situation caused British opinion to rally against them.

And in both cases, the Germans lost a great deal of credit in British eyes.

End podcast footnote.

In addition to its association with France, the Anglo-German relationship was also soured by a naval

race between Britain and Germany that bore witness

to a ferocious building and spending program as both sides attempted to surpass the other

in the construction of dreadnought battleships. By the spring of 1913, however, this naval race had

ended in Britain's favour, and as the British lead in naval capabilities became

comfortable enough that British statesmen no longer had to fear the German challenge, relations

became warmer. This improvement in relations was aided by a number of factors, including

the Anglo-German cooperation in mediating the Balkan Wars, which had disrupted and then eradicated

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