Non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War, most European countries followed a policy of non-intervention to avoid potential escalation or expansion of the war to other states. This policy led to the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September. Primarily arranged by the French and British governments, the committee included the Soviet Union, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany. Ultimately, the committee had the support of 27 states.

A plan to control materials coming into Spain was put forward in early 1937, effectively subjecting the Spanish Republic to severe international isolation and a de facto economic embargo. The plan was mocked by German and Italian observers as amounting to immediate and decisive support for the Spanish Nationalist faction. The subject of foreign volunteers in Spain was also much discussed by the European powers, but with little result; although agreements were signed late in the war, they were conducted outside the committee. Efforts to stem the flow of war materials to Spain were largely unsuccessful, with foreign involvement in the war proving instrumental to its outcome. Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union consistently broke the Non-Intervention Agreement, and France occasionally did so. Britain for the most part remained faithful to the agreement.