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*3: pacify, [[conciliate]]; especially : to buy off (an [[aggressor]]) by [[concessions]] usually at the [[sacrifice]] of [[principles]]
*3: pacify, [[conciliate]]; especially : to buy off (an [[aggressor]]) by [[concessions]] usually at the [[sacrifice]] of [[principles]]
==Description==
==Description==
'''Appeasement''' is a [[diplomatic]] [[policy]] aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor. Historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kennedy Paul Kennedy] defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and [[satisfying]] grievances through rational [[negotiation]] and [[compromise]], thereby avoiding the resort to an armed [[conflict]] which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous." Kennedy's definition has been widely cited by scholars. Appeasement was used by European democracies in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
'''Appeasement''' is a [[diplomatic]] [[policy]] aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor. Historian [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Kennedy Paul Kennedy] defines it as "the policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and [[satisfying]] grievances through rational [[negotiation]] and [[compromise]], thereby avoiding the resort to an armed [[conflict]] which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous." Kennedy's definition has been widely cited by scholars. Appeasement was used by European democracies in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930's 1930s] who wished to avoid war with the [[dictatorships]] of Germany and Italy, bearing in mind the horrors of [[World War I]].
1930's 1930s] who wished to avoid war with the [[dictatorships]] of Germany and Italy, bearing in mind the horrors of [[World War I]].
The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the British Prime Minister [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain] towards [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany Nazi Germany] between 1937 and 1939. His policies of avoiding war with Germany have been the subject of intense [[debate]] for seventy years among [[academics]], politicians and [[diplomats]]. The historians' assessments have ranged from [[condemnation]] for allowing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler Adolf Hitler]'s Germany to grow too strong, to the [[judgement]] that he had no alternative and acted in Britain's best interests. At the time, these concessions were widely seen as positive, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Pact Munich Pact] concluded on 30 September 1938 among Germany, Britain, France and Italy prompted Chamberlain to announce that he had secured "peace for our time".
The term is most often applied to the foreign policy of the British Prime Minister [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain] towards [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany Nazi Germany] between 1937 and 1939. His policies of avoiding war with Germany have been the subject of intense [[debate]] for seventy years among [[academics]], politicians and [[diplomats]]. The historians' assessments have ranged from [[condemnation]] for allowing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler Adolf Hitler]'s Germany to grow too strong, to the [[judgement]] that he had no alternative and acted in Britain's best interests. At the time, these concessions were widely seen as positive, and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Pact Munich Pact] concluded on 30 September 1938 among Germany, Britain, France and Italy prompted Chamberlain to announce that he had secured "peace for our time".