League of Nations Flashcards
What were the League of Nations Successes
The Aaland Island, 1921. Finland and Sweden both wanted these islands. They took the dispute to the League and accepted the decision to give them to Finland
Albania, 1920. Yugoslavia tried to take over Albania. The League eventually made Yugoslavia withdraw.
What were the League of Nations Problems (Structural Weakness)
First Problem: Structural Weakness
The league suffered from a lack of authority and limited membership. The parts of the league did not work well together; i.e Conference of ambassadors made decisions that should be made by the league. Authorisation of action requires a unanimous vote by the council, with so many members it was hard to obtain unanimous consent.
What were the League of Nations Problems (Lack of Authority and Credibility)
Second Problem: Lack of Authority and Credibility
The league was too closely related to the Treaty of Versailles. It was seen as a league for the victorious nations. 31 out of the 40 members were on the side of the Allies in WW1.
What were the League of Nations Problems (Limited Membership)
Third Problem: Limited Membership
Many European countries that were weak after WW1 prefered to focus on economic recovery. The USA did not want to be involved in Europe’s problems. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations. As a result, the USA became isolationist and withdrew from world affairs. This resulted in the league not having the necessary economic and military power backup of the USA to enforce its will. Many countries were also not allowed to join the league - Germany, cause it caused WW1 and the Soviet Union, because they were Communist. This lessened the credibility of the league, as a world organisation.
What were the League of Nations Problems (Post-war attitude of the Major Powers)
Fourth Problem: Post-war attitude of the Major Powers
Britain and France were affected by the damages and casualty rate of WW1, thus adopting policies which avoided war. Major countries viewed their own concerns as more important than the peace and security advocated by the league.
What were the League of Nations Problems (Appeasement and Distrust)
Fifth Problem: Appeasement and Distrust
After the devastation of WW1, Britain and France choose a new way of dealing with international issues, appeasement. Disarmament was also rejected as nations found reasons to reject disarmament, thus creating an atmosphere of distrust. Britain, needed to protect its empire. France, needed to defend itself from Germany. Japan, needed to defend Japan against colonisation by European powers.
Examples of key failure of the League of Nations
Manchuria, 1931. Japan invaded Manchuria and named it Manchukuo. The league asked Japan to return Manchuria to China. Japan refused and withdrew from the league. This then sets up Japan’s ambitions to invade the rest of South Asia.
Abyssian Crisis, 1935. Failure to prevent Italy from invading Abyssinia. Reassured Hitler that the League of Nations was weak.
