Appeasement then and Now - From Munich to Climate Breakdown

Appeasement Then and Now: From Munich to Climate Collapse! examines how the same patterns of denial and short-term political convenience that shaped the 1930s continue to influence our world today. David Jakob revisits Neville Chamberlain's famous "peace in our time" declaration after the Munich Agreement, showing how leaders, blinded by fear and pressured by public opinion, chose to ignore the clear threat of authoritarian expansion. Their reluctance to face reality did not prevent disaster — it postponed it and increased the eventual cost. Jakob argues that appeasement is not confined to history. Faced with the climate crisis and the rise of new forms of authoritarianism, governments often rely on reassurance, delay, and denial. The rhetoric has changed, but the mechanisms are the same: promise stability, dismiss urgent warnings, and hope the problem will disappear. Yet history shows that appeasement never resolves a threat — it only makes the reckoning worse. Written in clear, accessible language, this book bridges history, politics, and ethics. It challenges readers to see how collective blindness develops, how excuses become policy, and how responsibility is too often deferred. Appeasement Then and Now is a timely call to courage and clarity. For readers of history, politics, and current affairs, it offers both a warning and a reminder: reality cannot be appeased, and the responsibility to act always begins with us.