Interwar Years 1919-1938
"Let us return, however, to the league of nations. To create an organization which is in a position to protect peace in this world of conflicting interests and egotistic wills is a frighteningly difficult task."
Hjalmar Branting
Hjalmar Branting
League of Nations
In January 1918, some ten months before the end of World War I, US President Woodrow Wilson had written a list of proposed war aims which he called the "Fourteen Points." Eight of these points dealt specifically with territorial and political settlements associated with the victory of the Entente Powers, including the idea of national self-determination for ethnic populations in Europe. The remainder of the principles focused on preventing war in the future, the last proposing a League of Nations to arbitrate further international disputes. Wilson hoped his proposal would bring about a just and lasting peace, a "peace without victory" to end the "war to end all wars."
The League of Nations represented an effort to break the pattern of traditional power politics, and bring international relations into an open and cooperative forum in the name of peace and stability. The idea of the League was to eliminate four fatal flaws of the old European states: in place of competing monarchical empires - of which the Hapsburg Empire was perhaps the most notorious - the principle of national self-determination would create a world of independent nation states, free of outside interference; the secret diplomacy of the old order would be replaced by the open discussion and resolution of disputes; the military alliance blocs would be replaced by a system of collective guarantees of security; and agreed disarmament would prevent the recurrence of the kind of arms race that had racked up international tensions in the pre-war decade. |
Task 1: The League of Nations
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read Chapter 5 of the text History - 20th Century World: Causes, Practices and Effects of War, Chapter 8 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "Chapter 3 - Origins of the First World War - McDonough.pdf", "Setting up the League of Nations.pdf", "The Dawes Plan + The Spirit of Locarno.pdf", "The League Years 1919-1936.pdf".
- Complete the following spider-diagram and answer the following evaluation questions: "To what extent was the League of Nations a success? To what extent was the League a failure?"
Attempts at Reconciliation and Disarmament (1921-1930)
The League of Nations, born of the destruction and disillusionment arising from World War One, was the most ambitious attempt that had ever been made to construct a peaceful global order. It was rooted in a comprehensive liberal critique of the pre-war international system, which was widely believed to have been the cause of the carnage of 1914-18.
The League of Nations, born of the destruction and disillusionment arising from World War One, was the most ambitious attempt that had ever been made to construct a peaceful global order. It was rooted in a comprehensive liberal critique of the pre-war international system, which was widely believed to have been the cause of the carnage of 1914-18.
Unfortunately, Wilson's thinking about the way that self-determination would work in the real world, and about getting his idea for a 'community of power' off the ground, remained vague. Partly this was to avoid alarming US isolationist opinion, but in any case, when the League Covenant was agreed at the Paris peace conference in 1919, the US Senate refused to ratify it. How the League would have worked with American participation remains one of the great 'what ifs' of modern history. As it was, the direction of the system was left in the hands of states - primarily Britain and France - whose altruism was questionable and whose economic resources had been crippled by the war.
Though the League of Nations failed to pass any broad measures to achieve a lasting peace, the former Allies and Germany were reconciled on December 1, 1925 with the signing of the Locarno Pacts. The League of Nations, for its part, moved from its focus on settling conflicts to attempts to disarm the European militaries, which had been built up during the war. In this arena it fared little better than it had in the latter. Disarmament was a major goal of the League. Article III of the Covenant of the League called for "reduction of armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety." However, despite this priority, the first major arms treaty was negotiated outside of the League, in November 1921. The United States convened the Washington Conference, attended by Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, China, Japan, and Portugal.
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Yet the League of Nations did work surprisingly well, at least for a decade after the war. By December 1920, 48 states had signed the League Covenant, pledging to work together to eliminate aggression between countries. A series of disputes - between Germany and Poland over Upper Silesia, between Italy and Greece, and between Greece and Bulgaria - were resolved under its auspices.
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In 1925, the League of Nations appointed a commission to prepare a disarmament conference. The commission met first in 1926, and a number of times subsequently, all without success. Britain and France refused to cooperate, and without their participation, disarmament floundered. The League's inability to promote disarmament led United States Secretary of State Frank Kellogg and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand to jointly denounce war in the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, which stated that the signing parties condemned recourse to war, and denounced it as an aspect of policy. The pact was eventually ratified, often hesitantly, by 65 nations. Some nations signed while claiming exceptions for self-defense and such. The Kellogg-Briand Pact had no enforcement mechanism, but was based rather on the affirmation of the spirit of peace.
The last major League of Nations-sponsored disarmament conference met from February to July 1932 at Geneva, with 60 nations in attendance, including the United States. However, this conference, like it's predecessors, failed to secure any agreement, and organized disarmament remained an unaccomplished goal.
The last major League of Nations-sponsored disarmament conference met from February to July 1932 at Geneva, with 60 nations in attendance, including the United States. However, this conference, like it's predecessors, failed to secure any agreement, and organized disarmament remained an unaccomplished goal.
The last major League of Nations-sponsored disarmament conference met from February to July 1932 at Geneva, with 60 nations in attendance, including the United States. However, this conference, like it's predecessors, failed to secure any agreement, and organized disarmament remained an unaccomplished goal.
The last major League of Nations-sponsored disarmament conference met from February to July 1932 at Geneva, with 60 nations in attendance, including the United States. However, this conference, like it's predecessors, failed to secure any agreement, and organized disarmament remained an unaccomplished goal.
Task 2: The Other Treaties and Peace Conferences
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read Chapter 5 of the text History - 20th Century World: Causes, Practices and Effects of War, Chapter 8 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "Chapter 3 - Origins of the First World War - McDonough.pdf", "Setting up the League of Nations.pdf", "The Dawes Plan + The Spirit of Locarno.pdf", "The League Years 1919-1936.pdf".
- Complete the following table below.
Failure of League of Nations
The League of Nations was an organization wracked by contradictions and insufficiencies from the start. Membership was determined by the acceptance of the Covenant of the League, which stated the goals and philosophy upon which it was founded. The covenant, however, had been drafted by small committees behind closed doors, thus violating the spirit of "open covenants openly arrived at" expounded by the Covenant of the League itself. This contradiction foreshadowed similar crises of ideology in the future for the League. The United State's failure to join the League of Nations was a major blow to the hopes of its founders, and to Wilson's view on the character of the 'new diplomacy.' It also marked the beginning of a period of US isolationism, which kept the US effectively out of European political affairs for the majority of the inter-war period.
The founding and structure of the League of Nations was established primarily for the purpose of preventing future wars, a new concept for Europeans who traditionally believed that war was a necessary and inevitable outgrowth of international relations. However, the League could not come to a decision on how best to do this, without infringing on the sovereignty of the member countries, as would have been the case if the Treaty of Mutual Assistance or the Geneva Protocol had been passed. The failure of these two measures left the League with only the power to invoke economic sanctions against a nation determined to be the aggressor in a conflict, and greatly called into question the authority and ability of the League to mediate conflicts. The League of Nations thus exercised only limited powers, and did so clumsily. Most powerful nations preferred to manage their affairs outside of the League, only rarely deferring to the League's authority. Despite these shortcomings, the League of Nations did accomplish some of its unification and pacification goals, and perhaps most importantly, set the stage for the United Nations, which would take its place after World War II.
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Task 3: The Failures of the League of Nations
Instructions:
Instructions:
- Read Chapter 5 of the text History - 20th Century World: Causes, Practices and Effects of War, Chapter 8 of the text "Modern World History (blue text)", "Chapter 3 - Origins of the First World War - McDonough.pdf", "Setting up the League of Nations.pdf", "The Dawes Plan + The Spirit of Locarno.pdf", "The League Years 1919-1936.pdf".
- Answer the following question "Why did the League of Nations Fail?" by completing the spider-diagram below. Make sure you use all of the example provided in all of the readings.
Exam Questions
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
November Exams
Paper 2: Topic 4 - Peace and cooperation: international organizations and multiparty states
Paper 3 Questions
Paper 2: Topic 1 - Causes, Practices and Effects of War
May Exams
- Analyse the results of either the First World War or the Second World War. (May 2005 & 2007)
November Exams
- “Peace settlements create conditions for new conflicts.” With reference to at least two settlements explain to what extent you agree with this statement. (Nov 2005)
Paper 2: Topic 4 - Peace and cooperation: international organizations and multiparty states
- Why, in spite of early successes, did the League of Nations fail to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War? (May 2005 & 2007)
- “Peace and cooperation was an ideal that proved impossible to achieve through international organisations in the twentieth century.” To what extent do you agree with this judgment? (May 2006)
- To what extent was the League of Nations’ failure to maintain peace in the inter-war period due to its inherent weaknesses? (Nov 2005)
- Compare and contrast the peacekeeping efforts of the League of Nations and the United Nations in their first ten years of existence. (Nov 2006)
- “Unrealistic aims and weak structure have prevented international organizations from achieving their goals.” With reference to one international organization, explain to what extent you agree with this statement. (Nov 2006)
- Explain how one international organization has contributed to the social and economic development of two countries, each chosen from a different region. (Nov 2007)
- To what extent did international organizations find it difficult to achieve peace and cooperation in the twentieth century? (May TZ1 2008)
- Compare and contrast the foundation and structure of the League of Nations & the United Nations. (May TZ1 2008)
- What were the major obstacles faced by the League of Nations and the United Nations in their attempts to maintain peace? (Nov 2008)
- (a) Explain the aims of one international organization.
(b) To what extent were these aims implemented [carried out] in the ten years after the organization’s foundation? (May TZ1 2009) - Analyse the successes and failures of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1930. (May TZ2 2009)
- (a) Explain why one international organization was founded.
(b) To what extent was its structure and organization appropriate for implementing [carrying out] its aims? (May TZ2 2009) - Explain why either the League of Nations or the United Nations found it difficult to preserve peace. (Nov 2009)
Paper 3 Questions
- To what extent did collective security become a victim of economic problems in the inter-war years? (Nov 2005)
- Account for the foundation of the League of Nations, and assess its success between 1920 and 1935. (May 2006)
- Why did international diplomacy fail to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939? (Nov 2007)
- “The organization of the League of Nations, as laid out in its Covenant, was the main reason for its failure.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2009)