League of Nations & Inter-War International Relations

Vocabulary flashcards cover major organizations, agreements, crises, and concepts from the lecture on the League of Nations, its structure, successes, failures, and related inter-war developments.

League of Nations (LON)

International organization founded in 1920 to resolve disputes, promote disarmament, and improve living standards through collective security.

Collective Security

Principle that member states agree to act together against aggressors to preserve peace.

General Assembly (LON)

Annual meeting of all League members; each state had one vote to debate and recommend policies.

Council (LON)

Executive body with permanent and non-permanent members; decisions required unanimity, allowing vetoes.

Secretariat (LON)

Administrative staff that prepared agendas, kept records, and carried out day-to-day League work.

Permanent Members

Britain, France, Italy, and Japan held guaranteed seats on the LON Council until the 1930s.

Permanent Court of International Justice

Body of 15 judges that offered legal rulings on disputes between states.

Commissions & Agencies

Specialist bodies tackling issues such as health, labour, mandates, minorities, and refugees.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

League agency aiming to improve wages, working hours, and conditions worldwide.

Mandates Commission

League body supervising former colonies taken from defeated powers to ensure fair administration.

Minorities Commission

Agency monitoring treatment of ethnic minorities in member states.

Åland Islands Dispute (1920)

Territorial conflict between Finland and Sweden; League awarded the islands to Finland—successful mediation.

Upper Silesia Plebiscite (1921)

League-supervised vote that divided the industrial region between Germany and Poland.

Greek–Bulgarian Crisis (1925)

Greek troops invaded Bulgaria; League demanded withdrawal and Greece complied.

Vilna Crisis (1920)

Poland seized Lithuanian capital; League took no effective action, revealing weaknesses.

Corfu Incident (1923)

Italy occupied Greek island after assassination; Mussolini bypassed League and forced compensation from Greece.

Refugee Repatriation

League effort that returned about 400,000 World War I prisoners and refugees home.

Health Commission

League unit that combated diseases through international vaccination and public-health campaigns.

Disarmament

League aim to reduce armaments; conferences in 1923 and 1932 failed to achieve binding reductions.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

Agreement by 65 nations renouncing war as a tool of policy, but lacking enforcement mechanisms.

Washington Naval Conference (1921-22)

U.S.-led meeting where five powers agreed to limit battleship tonnage in a 5:5:3:1.75:1.75 ratio.

Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty

Treaty resulting from the Washington Conference restricting capital ships and halting new construction for ten years.

Locarno Pact (1925)

Series of agreements in which Germany accepted its western borders and paved the way for LON membership.

Isolationism (U.S.)

Policy of avoiding foreign entanglements; kept the United States out of the League of Nations.

Veto / Unanimity Rule

Requirement that all Council members agree; allowed any state to block League action.

Economic Sanctions

Non-military penalties (trade bans, financial restrictions) the League could impose—often ineffective without U.S. support.

Great Depression (1929)

Worldwide economic crisis starting with the Wall Street Crash, undermining cooperation and fueling extremism.

Protectionism

High tariffs imposed to shield domestic industries during the Depression, reducing international trade.

Manchurian Crisis (1931-33)

Japanese army seized Manchuria; League condemned aggression but took no forceful action, leading Japan to withdraw.

Lytton Commission

League inquiry that found Japan the aggressor in Manchuria; its report was ignored by Japan.

Abyssinian Crisis (1935-36)

Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia; partial sanctions failed, damaging League credibility.

Self-Preservation Mind-set

Reluctance of Britain and France to risk war or economic loss in enforcing League decisions.

Absence of the USA

Key factor weakening League authority, finance, and ability to apply effective sanctions.

Hyperinflation (Germany 1923)

Rapid devaluation of German currency caused by reparations and overprinting of money.

Reparations

Payments Germany owed to Allies under the Treaty of Versailles, straining its economy.

Dawes Plan (1924)

U.S.-engineered scheme that loaned 800 million gold marks to Germany and re-scheduled reparations.

Young Plan (1929)

Further reduction of German reparations to US$2.6 billion with a 59-year payment schedule.

Wall Street Crash (1929)

Stock-market collapse that triggered the Great Depression and withdrawal of U.S. loans from Europe.

Authoritarian Expansion

Aggressive policies of Japan, Italy, and Germany in the 1930s, testing League resolve.

Treaty of Versailles Link

League obligation to uphold the 1919 peace settlement, viewed as biased by defeated states.

Big Three

Leaders Wilson (USA), Lloyd George (Britain), and Clemenceau (France) who shaped the post-WWI settlement.

War Guilt Clause (Article 231)

Versailles provision assigning blame for WWI to Germany, justifying reparations.

Self-Determination

Wilson’s principle that peoples should choose their own sovereignty; only partially implemented after WWI.

‘Credibility Gap’

Perception that the League lacked real power due to absence of troops and enforcement.

Self-Defense Loophole

Clause in Kellogg-Briand Pact allowing wars claimed to be defensive, undermining enforcement.

Five Power Ratio 5:5:3

Battleship tonnage formula (US:UK:Japan) set by the Washington Naval Treaty.

Sanctions on Oil, Coal, Steel (Abyssinia)

Key resources excluded from League embargo on Italy, ensuring sanctions’ failure.

Buffer State

Territory such as Manchuria viewed by Japan as protective space against Soviet influence.