History - Topic 4; The changing role of international organisations: The League and the UN 1919-c2011 - Unit 1: The creation and successes of the league, 1919-29

Reasons why the League of Nations was set up:

Reasons why the League of Nations was set up:

World War One

The massive loss of life, destruction and trauma cause by WW1 left the world determined to prevent such a catastrophic event from happening again. Leaders recognised the need for an international body to mediate disputes and address conflicts diplomatically before they escalated into full - scale wars.

Woodrow Wilson

U.S President Woodrow Wilson was one of the key proponents of the League. His fourteen points speech, delivered in 1918, outlined a vision for a more peaceful world order. One of the points called for the creation of a general association of nations to provide mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity, which laid the groundwork for the League.

The Treaty of Versailles

The League of Nations was included in the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended WW1. The Treaty aimed to create a new world order based on cooperation, disarmament, and the collective security of Nations. The League was seen as a tool to enforce the Treaty’s terms and maintain peace through collective international efforts

Collective Security

The pre- WW1 system of alliances was blamed for contributing to the War’s outbreak. Leaders wanted to create an international organisation where conflicts would be addressed collectively and security could be maintained through international collaboration rather than isolated alliances.

The organisation of the League of nations:

The organisation of the League of nations:

The council

• Meet 3-4 times per year in Geneva or if a dispute arose

• Four permanent members to 1926; five members after 1926

• Made decisions about what action the league would take

• Set up commissions

• All votes had to be unanimous

The assembly

• League of nations’ parliament; debated issues

• Met annually in Geneva

• Each member state had one votes

• Elected non-permanent members to the council

• Elected judges to the PICJ

• Had ultimate authority over the League’s actions

The Secretariat

• Permanent body

• Headquarters in Geneva

• Led by the Secretary General

• Drew up the agenda for the Assembly

• Did administrative work necessary for the League to carry out its decisions

International Labour Organisation

• Autonomous part of the League

• Focused on regulation of labour, including working hours, protection of women and children in the workplace; prevention of accidents; and international co-operation on unemployment.

Permanent International Court of justice

• Autonomous part of the League

• Fifteen permanent members

• Sat in the Hague

• Interpreted and enforced treaties

• Dealt with complaints

• Advised the council if necessary

Commissions, agencies, special committees

• Established to deal with a range of social, economic, political and humanitarian issues

• Gathered relevant data

• Published reports

• Developed policies and greements

Examples of commissions, agencies and special committees

• Child welfare

• Health

• Mandates

• Refugees

• Disarmament

• Drugs

• Minorities

• Slavery

Reasons why the League of nations was a weak organisation:

Reasons why the League of nations was a weak organisation:

MEMBERSHIP

MEMBERSHIP

membership reason 1:

The USA did not join the League → Why the League’s effectiveness was weakened by the USA not being a member?

• Economic: As the world’s largest economy, the USA could have applied a great deal of economic pressure if it had threatened to cease trading with an aggressor state.

• Collective Security: Would have been far more powerful discouragement to aggressive countries with US involvement.

• France and Britain: Without the USA, France and Britain were the most powerful nations. They were imperial powers and victors in WW1. This caused resentment and bad feeling amongst other countries, especially those that had left the War.

membership reason 2:

The USSR was not allowed to join the League → Why did the absence of the USSR and USA make the League a weak organisation?

• The League missed the authority, strength, and prestige the USA and USSR would have brought. These countries also represented a powerful presence outside the League.

membership reason 3:

Germany and the defeated countries were not allowed to join the League at first:

• Again, they were a powerful presence outside the league of nations.

membership reason 4:

Great Britain and France were the most important countries in the League, but they were not good leaders:

• Without the USA or USSR, the league became a largely European organisation, with the most important countries being France and Britain.

• A problem was that neither France nor Britain was particularly keen to act outside of Europe unless their interests were directly threatened.

• Both France and Britain had suffered terribly during WW1. Their economics and armed forces were badly weakened. This meant that they were usually unwilling to intervene in conflicts when this might cost them money or men.

• After the horror of 1914-18, the French and British public were very much against conflict. This meant their governments were unwilling to go to war, even to protect long-term peace.

• In addition, Britain and France didn’t always agree with each other. Their disagreements made for a weaker League.

membership reason 5:

Membership of the League was constantly changing:

• There was a constant shift of League membership.

• Joining and leaving the League was extremely easy. This meant there was no stability for the League. Many countries left because the League opposed their actions or because it was not doing much to help.

• This meant there were powerful nations who became opponents outside the League.

DECISION MAKING

DECISION MAKING

decision making reason 1:

Decisions of the League needed to be unanimous

• All decisions taken by the council had to be unanimous, even if action was desperately needed, one member of the council voting against it meant it wouldn’t go ahead.

• The league needed full co-operation to be successful, especially as it didn’t have the means to enforce its decisions.

LACK OF FORCE

LACK OF FORCE

Lack of force reason 1:

Lack of Force

• Not having its own armed forces was an important drawback.

• The League was not strong enough to defend members under threat from more powerful countries, nor could it enforce its decisions.

• The idea of collective security became less workable as the 1930s developed.

Disputes the league of nations had success dealing with

Disputes the league of nations had success dealing with

The Aaland Islands (1920)