Part 2 : the League of Nations and International Peace Flashcards
What were the three main causes of the League of Nations’ creation?
- Wilson’s Fourteen Points: Proposed an international organisation for peaceful conflict resolution.
- WWI’s devastation: The war’s destruction and loss of life motivated nations to prevent future conflict.
- Failure of pre-war diplomacy: The alliance system escalated minor conflicts into global wars.
What were the League’s main aims?
- Resolve disputes to avoid armed conflict.
- Achieve world disarmament.
- Encourage free trade among nations.
- Improve global living standards.
How did Article 10 of the Covenant promote collective security?
An attack on one League member was treated as an attack on all. Members pledged to form a joint military defence against aggressors.
What key factors were visually represented in the concept map for the League’s creation?
- Impact of WWI: Massive loss of life and destruction.
- Wilson’s Fourteen Points: Promoted collective security and diplomacy.
- Failure of alliances: Pre-war alliances escalated conflict instead of deterring it.
What were the roles of different bodies within the League?
Assembly:
- Every member had one vote.
- Met annually, required unanimous decisions.
Council:
- Included permanent members (Britain, France, Japan, Italy).
- Met five times a year and could use veto power.
Secretariat:
- Administrative body with experts.
- Became overburdened as the League expanded.
Permanent Court of Justice:
- Resolved disputes, but could not enforce rulings.
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the League’s structure?
- Strength: Equal voting in the Assembly.
- Weaknesses: Slow decision-making and reliance on member nations for enforcement.
What powers did the League have to enforce its aims?
- Moral condemnation.
- Trade sanctions.
- Compensation payments.
- Plebiscites for disputed territories.
- Military force (through member nations’ contributions).
What were the key weaknesses of the League?
Membership issues:
- The USA never joined, weakening the League’s authority.
- Germany and the USSR were excluded initially, alienating key nations.
Lack of enforcement power:
- No standing army to uphold decisions.
Unanimous decision-making:
- Slowed responses and made agreement difficult.
Structure problems:
- Veto power for permanent members (Britain, France, Italy, Japan) allowed them to block actions.
What was the significance of excluding the USA, Germany and the USSR?
- The USA’s absence undermined economic sanctions and military decisions.
- Germany’s exclusion fuelled extremism and resentment.
- The USSR, already isolated due to communism, felt alienated, threatening global stability.
How did the League’s structure contribute to its inefficiency?
- The Assembly met only annually.
- The Council met five times yearly but relied on veto powers.
- The Secretariat became overburdened as the League expanded.
- The Permanent Court of Justice issued rulings but had no enforcement powers.
What did the Refugee Commission achieve?
- Repatriated 425,000 displaced people after WWI.
- Improved conditions in refugee camps, reducing deaths from diseases like cholera.
- Issued Nansen Passports for stateless refugees (1922-1938)
- Reduced disease outbreaks in camps.
What were the Refugee Commission’s weaknesses?
A lack of funding to address large-scale crises effectively.
What were the League’s health achievements?
- Created research institutes in London, Copenhagen, and Singapore.
- Prevented a typhoid epidemic in the USSR.
- Introduced vaccines for malaria and eradicated mosquito larvae.
- Conducted malaria prevention on the River Danube in 1929.
- promoted hygiene education
What limited the Health Organisation’s impact?
Funding shortages during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
What were the successes of the ILO?
- Restricted working weeks to 48 hours.
- Banned poisonous lead paint.
- Encouraged 77 countries to agree on minimum wages.
What were the ILO’s limitations?
- Could only recommend policies, not enforce them.
- Several countries ignored recommendations, such as banning child labour.
What were the successes of the Slavery Commission?
- Freed 200,000 slaves in Sierra Leone
- Disrupted Burmese slave traders by raids
- Reduced death rates of workers on the Tanganyika Railway from 50% to 4%
- A 1926 Convention article pledged to abolish slavery in all forms.
What weaknesses did the Slavery Commission face?
- No consistent review process for addressing slavery among member states.
How did the League handle the Aaland Islands dispute (1921)?
- Investigated the claim between Sweden and Finland and awarded the islands to Finland with protections for Swedish residents . The decision was respected, making a success.
What was the outcome of the Corfu dispute (1923)?
- Italy occupied Corfu after blaming Greece for an Italian general’s death.
- The League failed to stand up to Mussolini, who forced Greece to pay compensation.
- Highlighted the League’s inability to handle powerful nations.
What was the reasons for the Corfu failure?
- Mussolini forced Greece to pay compensation after occupying Corfu
- The League deferred to the Conference of Ambassadors, undermining its authority
What was the significance of the Upper Silesia plebiscite (1921)?
- Poland received 1/3 of the land ; Germany retained 2/3.
- Division over coal resources later worsened relations.
How did the Bulgaria dispute (1925) expose the League’s inconsistencies?
Greece was punished for invading Bulgaria, but Italy faced no consequences for similar aggression in Corfu.
The League’s failure in Vilna
- Poland invaded Vilna; Lithuania requested help
- France supported Poland as a potential ally
- Britain refused to act without broader support
- Result : The League failed to uphold a collective security
Why did some diplomacy occur outside the League?
- Major powers like the USA weren’t members
- Nations preferred bilateral agreements for efficiency.
- The League was seen as slow and ineffective.
What were the key features of the Locarno Treaties (1925)?
- Germany accepted its western borders.
- France and Germany pledged peace
- Helped Germany join the League in 1926, enhancing its credibility.
What was the significance of the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)?
- 62 countries renounced war as a method of resolving disputes.
- Boosted Germany’s reputation as a peaceful nation.
- showed widespread global optimism
How did the Rapallo Treaty (1922) undermine the League?
- Germany and the USSR secretly cooperated militarily and economically
- Conducting diplomacy outside the League weakened its authority.
