| ID | 178363 |
| Title Proper | Catholicism and Foreign Policy |
| Other Title Information | Esme Howard and British Policy towards Poland, 1919 |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | McKercher, B J C |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Esme Howard, the British diplomat posted to the Paris Peace Conference to handle policy towards North and Northeastern Europe, saw his proposals except for the Polish Corridor largely ignored by David Lloyd George, the prime minister, and his advisors at Downing Street. The two men had decidedly different conceptions of post-war Poland: Howard plumped for a large Poland with adequate territory and economic resources to counter the certain revival of Britain’s adversaries Germany and Russia; Lloyd George looked for a smaller one to appease republican Germany and Russia whether the latter became ‘Red’ or ‘White’. It has been suggested that as Howard was Roman Catholic, he looked to support reborn Roman Catholic Poland as much as he could. Such assertions are incorrect. Before and after 1919 in his various postings, he always put British interests above all else, even in Catholic countries in which he served. His advice at Paris was to ensure smaller Powers like Poland and the Baltic States could with British support maintain a regional balance of power against Britain’s Berlin and Moscow. Lloyd George lacked any strategic vision in seeking to ameliorate differences with the Germans and Russians.
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| `In' analytical Note | Diplomacy and Statecraft Vol. 32, No.2; Jun 2021: p.289-309 |
| Journal Source | Diplomacy and Statecraft Vol: 32 No 2 |
| Key Words | Poland ; Catholicism ; Foreign Policy ; 1919 ; Esme Howard and British Policy |