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Between 1937 and 1939, British leaders faced the problem of simultaneous challenges from the Axis Powers in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Far East. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and his two Foreign Secretaries, Anthony Eden and Lord Halifax, had to construct a strategy to deal with these threats to British interests. A serious dispute between Chamberlain and Eden over the strategy of appeasement led to the replacement of Eden with Halifax in the spring of 1938. Subsequent British confrontations with the two fascist dictatorships in Germany and Italy demonstrated the failure of Britain?s appeasement strategy toward Hitler and Mussolini. What were British leaders thinking when they decided on a strategy of appeasement? Was the dispute between Chamberlain and Eden emblematic of flaws inherent in this strategy or merely a quarrel over its proper implementation? Why did Chamberlain persist in a strategy that led to World War II? Was Halifax a true believer or merely a loyal supporter of appeasement? A content analysis of their public statements reveals some interesting answers to these questions. The results also contain some lessons regarding the psychological origins of appeasement as a rational strategy and the conditions under which it is likely to be adopted. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]