How did the world try to
prevent war?
Objectives
By the end of this
lesson you will be
able to:
■
identify the
strengths and
weaknesses of the
League of Nations
■
make a judgement
about the League’s
overall success
After the end of World War One, the powers atVersailles decided to
establish an organisation designed to prevent war breaking out again. It
was named the League of Nations.This section examines the league
and explores its effectiveness.
Getting you thinking
What organisations do we have today that are designed to stop
conflict? Do they work?
The League of Nations was an attempt to stop war. It had 26 articles
that aimed to reduce arms and to stop war, either through sanctions or
military action.The League also established a Court of International
Justice at The Hague to allow nations to bring their disputes before a
court. It had limited powers and could not force a country to accept its
judgement.
The League’s first meeting was in 1922 and 42 nations attended.
However, some important countries were missing: neither Russia nor
any of the defeated powers were allowed to join, while the USA
refused to join.
Despite this the League had some successes. For example, it organised
financial help for Austria in 1922 when the country was on the verge
of economic collapse. In 1925 the League stopped Greece from
invading Bulgaria and by 1939, it had settled 70 cases and arranged 400
agreements.These, however, were minor disputes.The first real test for
the League came with Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931.
Manchuria
Japan was a member of the League of Nations.The League sent a
commission whose report condemned the invasion.When the League
refused to accept the occupation of Manchuria, the Japanese ignored it
and left the group in 1933.
Abyssinia
Italy was a member of the League, as was Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).
Mussolini wanted to expand Italy’s territory abroad. In 1935, Italy
began to amass troops on the Abyssinian borders and Abyssinia
86
Sanctions: peaceful actions against a country aimed at forcing it to change