paper 2 organisation and membership of League of Nations Flashcards
what was the League of Nations
1 body set up to enforce terms of the post war treaties
2 It would provide collective security for member countries who had signed by countries promising to protect each other
what did those who joined sign and promise to do
sign the covenant of the league of nations and promise to protect other member nations
where were the headquarters
Geneva Switzerland
was it popular
yes people didnt want another war
how was the organisation set up
Assembly - every member country sent a representitive to an annual meeting - all decisions had to be unanimous
Council- small group ( made up from permanent members and members elected every 3 years ) who made decisions met several times a year - decisions had to be unanimous
Secretariat - kept records, prepared reports, translated documents
Permanent Court of International Justice - based at the Hague- intended to settle disputes between countries and offer advice to Assembly and Council
Commissions - dealt with major social and economic issues such as refugees and epidemics
How many members were there
started with 42 countries all who had fought for or supported allies,
at first defeated countries were not allowed to join by Germany joined in 1926
Had around 50 members
which countries didnt join and why
US congress voted not to join as didnt want to get dragged in to Europes disputes
USSR not allowed in because of fear of communism
some countries - Germany Japan later withdrew
What powers did the league have set out in the covenant (3)
1 could stop disputes between nations, decide who was wrong and tell them to stop (moral condemnation)
2 tell member countries not to trade with guilty country ( economic sanctions)
3 as league didnt have an army it could instruct members to provide troops to fight against an aggressor
why might a the league might not be able to stop an invasion (2)
1 It relied on persuasion
2 countries could just leave if they didn’t want to do as asked.
