When Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany were threatening to take over Europe in the 1930s prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chose appeasement.
On Sept. 30, 1938, the Munich Agreement was signed by Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany, handing over the Sudetenland, a fortified region of Czechoslovakia, to Hitler. The agreement was signed without Czechoslovakia’s participation. Six months later, Germany invaded the rest of the country. The appeasement had failed catastrophically.
Appeasement has a long record of failure. The League of Nations’ weak response to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 led directly to the Second Sino-Japanese War. Much more recently, Russia’s incursion into Georgia in 2008 was met with limited resistance, paving the way for the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Today, 157 of the 193 United Nations member states, roughly 81%, have formally recognized the state of Palestine. These recognitions have not been conditioned on the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, nor on Hamas relinquishing control of Gaza or disarming. In effect, recognition has been granted without demanding accountability from a group widely designated as a terrorist organization.
Why have countries like France, Britain and Belgium moved forward with recognition? One answer lies in domestic politics. France’s population is approximately 10% Muslim, Britain’s more than 6%. These communities are politically active and have mobilized in large numbers in support of the Palestinian cause. Recognition may be less about foreign policy and more about managing domestic unrest.
Italy, however, chose not to recognize a Palestinian state, and the backlash was immediate. Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded 75 cities, including the major cities of Rome, Milan, Bologna, Naples, Turin, Florence, Genoa and Livorno. Roads were blocked, flags burned, windows smashed, and projectiles thrown. Riot police deployed tear gas and water cannons to contain the unrest.
Italy’s Arab-descended population is only about 1.3%. The scale of the protests raises a provocative question: What would have happened if that demographic were larger?
Appeasing domestic pressure by recognizing a Palestinian state without demanding meaningful concessions from Hamas does not advance peace. It risks emboldening radical Islamist factions and undermines efforts to support Western values, Israel’s security and achieve peace in the Middle East. Israel remains the only Middle Eastern country broadly aligned with Western democratic norms. Undermining its position through unqualified recognition sends a troubling signal. Appeasement may buy short-term calm, but history shows that it rarely delivers long-term stability.
