| Summary/Abstract |
This brief essay pays tribute to the contribution of Donald Cameron Watt (1928–2014) to the historiography of twentieth-century international history and the origins of the Second World War in Europe. It sets out his characteristic approach to the field, especially the emphasis he placed on the beliefs and perceptions of key decision-makers in the international system in explaining how and why events occurred the way they did. This essay suggests that Donald Watt’s approach to international history was shaped by the connexion he felt with the post-1919 founders of the field and by his own experiences in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
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