Answer:
I don't remember from the top of my head, but it is not Voltaire or Hobbes, so it must be C
It sounds like you are describing the process of appeasement. Appeasement (giving into an aggressor's demands to avoid larger conflict) became infamous during the Munich Conference in the 1930s. The issue discussed at the Conference was Hitler's attempt to annex the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia (against their will). Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, understood that Hitler had the potential to throw the continent back into war and thus approved the annexation (appeasing Hitler) in order to avoid larger conflict.
Throughout the history of the United States Congress there have been times when members of either chamber have refused to seat new members. Article I, Section 5 of the United States Constitution states that, "Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each House may provide." This means that members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate can refuse to recognize the election or appointment of a new representative or senator. They can bar the individual outright or refer the matter to a committee for inquiry. Powell v. McCormack (1969) clarified the issue of the scope of powers of the Congress to refuse to seat an elected member. The Federal Contested Elections Act of 1969 currently lays out the procedures by which each House determines contested elections.