Unit 2 - To what extent was the League of Nations a success?

LoN -> League of Nations

Some flaws from the start with the League of Nations

Some flaws from the start with the League of Nations

1. Leaders couldn’t decide on the role of the League

   1. British leaders (Lloyd George) → only meet in emergencies (but this organisation already existed called the Conference of Ambassadors)

   2. France → a strong League with its own army

   3. USA (Wilson) → an organisation that. would try to solve international issues like a world parliament

2. Absence of the USA => European public opinion going against LoN bc their hopes came from the USA being able to do smth

   • Wilson needed the approval of congress to join the League but the idea of the League wasn’t popular among the people

     • The League was supposed to enforce the ToV but millions of Americans who have German ancestors hated the treaty

     • Some feared that joining the League meant sending US soldiers to settle every little conflict around the world (ppl wanted no more casualties after the First World War)

     • If the League imposed sanctions, it might be American trade and businesses that suffer most bc of the stop in trade

     • Some feared that the League would be dominated by Britain or France (many Americans were anti-empires)

   • Congress voted against him in 1919 but in 1920, Wilson still tried to press for the US to join the League even though he was in ill health after having a stroke

   • In March 1920, he was defeated by Congress again

   • The republican party campaigned for America to be isolationist and to ‘return to normalcy’ (life before the war) => gained most of the votes and won

The covenant of the League’s aims

• AC/DC

  • Discourage aggression from any nation

  • Encourage countries to co-operate, especially in business and trade

  • Encourage nations to disarm

  • Improve the living and working conditions of people in all parts of the world

• Collective security

  • By acting (collectively), the members of the League could prevent war by defending the lands and interests of all nations, large or small.

How successful were the League’s attempts at peacekeeping in the 1920s? (Border disputes)

• Disputes were created by the changed borders of countries from the Paris Peace Conference

• Successes:

  1. Aaland Islands (1921)

     • The Aaland Islands in the Baltic Sea was a Finnish territory but had largely Swedish population (Many of them wanted independence from Finland which almost led to conflict between the 2 countries) → The League ruled in favour of Finland and Sweden accepted the decision

• Partial success:

  1. Bulgaria (1925)

     • October: Greek troops invaded Bulgaria after an incident by the border where a few Greek soldiers were killed

     • The LoN demanded both sides to stand down and Greek forces to withdraw from Bulgaria + Greece had to pay 45,000 pounds in compensation and was threatened with sanctions if they didn’t follow the ruling

     • Greece obeyed but felt it was unfair how larger members (i.e. Italy) were able to change the ruling but smaller states, like themselves, couldn’t

• Failures:

  1. Vilna (1920-1929)

     • Poland and Lithuania became independent states after the breakup of the Russian Empire at the end of the war

     • October 7th 1920: Vilna (largely Polish-speaking population) became apart of Lithuanian territory after negotiations with the League and the withdrawal Soviet troops

     • October 9th 1920: Polish army annexed Vilna and Lithuania appealed to the LoN

     • The LoN ordered the Polish army to withdraw from the region and wait for a plebiscite but Poland refused and the LoN was powerless to stop the conflict

  2. Corfu (1923)

     • August 27th: Tellini (Italian general) and his team were ambushed and killed while surveying the greek side of Corfu

     • August 31st: Mussolini bombarded and occupied Corfu

     • September 7th: The council gave its judgement after Greece appealed to the League (They condemned the invasion and suggested for Greece to pay compensations to the League which would be given to Italy, only if Tellini’s killers were found

     • Mussolini disagreed with this so he demanded that the Conference of Ambassadors should decide rather than the League and threatened to leave the League

     • Britain and France didn’t want to go against Italy and made the League change its ruling, forcing Greece to pay compensations to Mussolini directly

2 efforts to strengthen the LoN

1. The Geneva Protocol: a protocol drafted by Britain and France in 1924 which said that if two members were in dispute they would have to ask the League to sort out the disagreement and they would have to accept the council’s decision

   • Done after the Corfu incident showed how the LoN could be undermined by its own members

   • Britain didn’t actually sign the protocol because the new Conservative government who won in the general election thought the protocol would make Britain forced to agree to something that isn’t in its own interests => goes against the whole point of the protocol

2. The Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance: required all members of the League to come to the assistance of a victim of aggression

   • Britain (once again) and Scandinavian members rejected this because they believe that members would not be willing or able to carry out the huge commitment that would result from such a role

The organisation of the League

1. The Council (Most powerful decision making part of the League)

   1. Smaller group than the Assembly and met more often (about 5 times a year or more in case of emergency)

   2. Included permanent members (Britain, France, Italy and Japan) and temporary members that were elected by the Assembly for three-year periods

   3. Each of the permanent members had a veto (could stop the Council acting even if all other members agreed)

   4. Main aim: resolve disputes by talking/diplomacy. If it didn’t work they had other powers:

      1. Moral condemnation (deciding which country was ‘the aggressor’ and tell it to stop what it was doing)

      2. Economic and financial sanctions

      3. Military force (the armed forces of member countries could be used against an aggressor)

2. The Assembly (the LoN’s ‘Parliament’")

   1. Every country in the League sent a representative to the Assembly and they met once every year

   2. They could recommend action to the Council + vote on the temporary members to the Council

   3. Decisions made by the Assembly had to be unanimous

3. The Secretariat (civil service serving all other bodies within the League)

   1. Kept records of League meetings and prepared reports

   2. Had a key role in bringing together experts from across the world on key issues (like health, disarmament and economic matters)

4. Permanent Court of International Justice

   1. Based in the Hague in the Netherlands and was made up of judges from member countries

   2. Meant to play a key role in the League’s work by settling disputes between countries peacefully

   3. If it was asked, the court would give a decision on a border dispute between countries but had no way of ensuring the countries followed its rulings

5. International Labour Organisation

   1. Brought together employers, governments and workers’ representatives

   2. Aim: Improve the working conditions all over the world

   3. Collected statistics and information about working conditions and how to improve them and tried to persuade member countries to adopt its suggestions

6. Agencies/Commissions/Committees

Agencies/Commissions/Committees

1. The Mandates commissions

   1. Made up of teams of expert advisers to report to the League on how people in the mandates (former colonies ruled by Britain and France) were being treated

   2. Aim: make sure Britain and France acted in the interests of the people of that territory and not of their own

2. The Refugees Committee

   1. Aim: Help prisoners of war and others displaced by WW1 back to their homes

3. The Slavery Commission

   1. Aim: Abolish slavery around the world

4. The Health Committee

   1. Deal with the problem of dangerous diseases and to educate people about health and sanitation

   2. Brought experts together and worked with charities and many other independent agencies to collect statistics about health issues, to spread new ideas and develop programmes to fight disease

5. The Disarmament Commission

   1. Aim: actualise the ideology of disarmament

Strengths & Failures in the organisation of the LoN & its effects

1. The Assembly

   1. Strength: Very democratic

      • Each member had a vote so no country could dominate decisions

   2. Weakness: Slow decision-making

      • Met once per year and decisions had to be unanimous

2. The Council

   1. Strength: Could react quicker

      • Met 5 times per year and in emergencies as well

   2. Weakness: Veto => possibly no real action being done

      • The permanent members dominate the Council’s decisions and each member has a veto so one member could stop a decisive action when its against their own interests

3. The Secretariat

   1. Strength: Lots of experts brought together => good and knowledgable action

   2. Weakness: Expensive to run

      • Especially when the League’s roles expanded over time => more experts to be hired => more costs

4. Permanent Court of International Justice

   1. Strength: Fair decisions

      • Made up of legal experts from members states

   2. Weakness: Lacked the power to follow up its rulings

5. International Labour Organisation

   1. Success: Did actually improved health and safety

      • They banned poisonous white lead from paint and implemented limited hours for child labour

      • They also campaigned for the introduction of an eight-hour day and 48-hour week

   2. Failure: Lack funds to implement the changes + member countries refused to adopt the changes

Successes & Failures in the agencies/commissions/committees of the LoN & its effects

1. Refugees Committee

   1. Success: Helped 425,000 displaced people return to their homes or find new ones + helped stamp out diseases (like cholera) in the refugee camps

   2. Failure: Was plagued by a constant lack of funds to the point where they couldn’t do many of the things they wanted to do which could’ve bettered the lives of refugees

2. Health Committee (Most successful committee)

   1. Success: Spread good medical practices and helped introduce vaccines for diseases like malaria + created medical research institutes around the world like in London, Copenhagen and Singapore

3. Slavery Commission

   1. Success: Freed 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone and organised raids against slave traders in Burma

   2. Failure: It didn’t succeed in ending the “white slave” traffic (the prostitution that spread throughout the world in the first years of the 20th century due to the growing misery and poverty of European women in the age of industrialisation)

4. Disarmament Commission

   1. Success: Washington Naval Conference (1921) → limited the navies of France, Britain, Japan and the USA & Locarno Treaty (1925) → Germany accept its western borders as set out in the ToV

   2. Failure: The League’s reputation was damaged as Germany was the only country forced to disarm + The disarmament conference (1932-1934) didn’t have any legal binding its resolutions (prohibiting the bombing of civilian populations, limiting the size of artillery, limiting the tonnage of tans, banning chemical warfare)

How far did the weaknesses in the League’s organisation make failure inevitable?

1. The League was limited by its membership

   1. The USA (the most powerful and wealthy country in the world) didn’t join => limited the League’s ability to deal with aggressive nations

   2. ToV forbade Germany to join (until 1926)

   3. Soviet Union was refused membership for ideological reasons until 1934

   4. Britain and France were the most powerful countries in the League but were both severely weakened by the First World war and both had other priorities

      1. Britain: interested in rebuilding British trade and looking after the British Empire

      2. France: worried about Germany attacking France

2. (The weaknesses of the organisation within the League on separate flashcards)

The Dawes Plan (1924) => Economic Recovery

• The US loans Germany money to pay reparations → Germany pays back allies on an agreed lower rate → Allies pay back US with money from Germany

• American loans => went into rebuilding industries => increased international trade & increased employment => increased profits (=> paid back American loans)

How far did the Depression make the work of the LoN more difficult?

• The Economic Depression:

  • Wall Street Crash (1929) => American loans ran out => bankruptcies => high unemployment

    • American unemployment rates rose 600% from 1929-1932

    • German: unemployment reached 6 million people in 1932 => chaos on the streets & support for extremist parties like Nazis and Communists

    • Japan: The Depression led to a drop in its main export (silk) => Japan unable to import important raw materials and food to survive

    • Britain & France: unwilling to help sort out international disputes while their economies were suffering too

  • Some countries tried to protect their own industries by putting import tariffs but other countries did the same in response which meant trade got worse overall => international co-operation lost

  • Many countries (Germany, Japan, Italy, Britain) started to rearm as a way of trying to get industries working and employing people => new armies caused alarm and tension + new rise in dictatorships and nationalism

    • Japan: military wanted to expand Japan’s overseas empire to access the raw materials and food it needed

    • Italy: the fascist government under Mussolini believed that an empire int he Mediterranean and Africa would help solve economic problems

    • Germany: the Nazis came to power under Hitler in 1933 and he promised to solve Germany’s economic problems by rearming and winning back lost territory in the ToV

The Manchurian crisis (1931-1933)

• Why did Japan attack Manchuria?

  • Economic: Japan lacked food and raw materials and the Depression had ruined its silk trade with the US and China → Manchuria had rich natural resources & links to Asian markets

  • Military: China’s military was inferior to Japan’s modern armed forces

  • Geographical: Japan had controlled Korea (which was on the border of Manchuria) since 1905 & had access to the South Manchurian Railway which carried food and fuel in Japan

• What happened?

  • September 1931: Mukden incident (Japan’s military who was in charge set up a government in Manchuria after the Chinese ‘allegedly’ attacked the South Manchurian railway)

  • Jan-March 1932: Japan occupied all of Manchuria and renamed it Manchukuo

  • March 1932: China appealed to the League for help

  • April 1932: Lord Lytton was sent by the League to investigate

  • Sep 1932: The Lytton Report comes out and the judgement was that Japan had acted unlawfully and Manchuria should be returned to the Chinese

  • Feb 1933: Japan ignored the report and invaded more of China

  • March 1933: Japan vetoed the actions of the League and resigned its membership

• The consequences of the Manchurian crisis for the League

  • League members looked weak and powerless

    • None of the League’s leading members wanted to lose trade in the Far East and didn’t want to risk their forces with military sanctions => lost trust in the LoN

  • Britain and France looked self-interested

    • Both countries had colonies in the Far East and din’t want to drawn into a war with Japan => opposite of international co-operation

  • Future aggression

    • Italy and Germany both saw the League’s members were not willing to stop powerful nations when they acted aggressively => encouraged them to be aggressive with no consequences

  • No USA or USSR

    • Both countries had the resources to remove Japan but neither were member of the League

Mussolini’s invasion of Abyssinia (1934-1936)

• Why did Italy invade Abyssinia?

  • Historical: In 1896, the Italian army had been defeated by a poorly equipped Abyssinian army → Mussolini wanted revenge and a military victory to boost his prestige at home

  • Economic: Abyssinia had rich mineral deposits and fertile land that could be added to Italy’s empire

  • Geographical: Abyssinia was bordered by two other Italian colonies (Eritrea & Italian Somaliland) => give Mussolini stronger foothold in East Africa which was dominated by British colonies

• What happened?

  • Dec 1934: Mussolini claimed Abyssinia after a border dispute at the Wal-Wal oasis

  • Jan-Oct 1935: Italy prepared for an invasion while negotiating with the League to settle the dispute → Mussolini rejected the League’s judgement (a plan that would give Mussolini some of Abyssinia)

  • October 1935: Italy invaded Abyssinia in a ruthless attack that included the use of tanks, airplanes and chemical weapons

  • Nov-Dec 1935: The League condemned the invasion and imposed economic sanctions

    • The League banned arms sales to Italy, banned loans, imports and the export of rubber, tin and metals

  • Dec 1935: Hoare-Laval Pact signed but it was leaked to the French press and Britain and France were blamed heavily (The Americans were disgusted with this and so they exported more oil to Italy to spite the League for their sanctions)

    • Hoare (British foreign minister) and Laval (French foreign minister) made a plan where they would give Mussolini 2/3 of Abyssinia in return for calling off his invasion

    • This plan was shown to Mussolini before the League

  • May 1936: Abyssinian capital, Addis Ababa, was captured

• The consequences of the Abyssinian crisis for the League

  • Ruined the reputation of Britain and France

    • The Hoare-Laval Pact, to the public, looked like the League’s leading members were following their own interests rather than the League’s

  • Stresa Pact (1935) => made Britain and France seem weak and acting in their own self-interests

    • Britain and France wanted Italy as an ally against Hitler and didn’t take the situation seriously enough as they didn’t close the Suez Canal (so Italy was able to continue to supply its troops in Abyssinia) and were prepared to ignore the League

  • No USA => ineffectiveness of the League without the US

    • The League had banned arms sales and loans to Italy but not oil over the fear that the US would not support the oil sanctions but the delays in the decision were fatal for Abyssinia

  • Hitler’s actions were encouraged

    • Hitler saw the League was preoccupied and launched an invasion of the Rhineland in 1936 + the Rome-Berlin Axis in November 1936