ABSTRACT
Chamberlain arrived at the Foreign Office in 1924 with a tenuous position in the Conservative Party, as a failed leader who nevertheless had a high-profile position. Because of this, his return to the fold necessitated high office, and he wielded strong influence in the Cabinet on many issues. Except for doubtful moments in 1924–25, he was totally in command of western European issues, and was able to pursue a policy of first calming France through a guarantee of French security at Locarno, and then calming Germany. This he did through assisting Stresemann to further his limited aims on troop reductions and reparations, especially by successfully pressurising Briand into making concessions. Of Chamberlain’s judgment of Stresemann’s intentions, which remain an open question, one must add that, as now, nobody in Europe in the 1920s knew exactly what they were, and it is quite possible that Chamberlain was correct. All of this represented a strong commitment by Britain to a European diplomatic role.
