The Origin of the Idea of the League
The
First World War caused a very heavy loss of life and property. So many people
felt that some means must be found out to prevent future wars. This idea was
not new. The example of the Hague Conference of 1899 and 1907 were before the
people. What the conference did in the past could be done by some other body in
the future. In this lay the origin of the league.
The
Establishment of the League of Nations
Wilson,
the President of the USA in his fourteen points included the idea of a League
of Nations. A scheme for putting it into effect was worked out. It was formally
established on Jan 10, 1920 with its headquarters at Geneva. The independent
states of the world were invited to become its members.
The
aims of the League of Nations
- Prevention of war
- Preservation of peace
- Promotion of international cooperation
- Settlement of international disputes
Every
member state agreed not to go to war without submitting the matter in dispute
to the league. Every member state also agreed not to declare war until three
months had passes after the league had given its decision. If any member state
violated this undertaking, others were free to take action against it.
The
organization of the League of Nations
There
were five organs in the League of Nations
- The Assembly – It contained
representatives of all member states. It was to meet at Geneva in
September of every year to decide important issues.
- The Council – It was a smaller body
than the assembly and contained representatives of the great powers. There
were three ordinary meeting of the council every year. Ordinary business
was carried out by the council.
- The Secretariat – It consisted of a
body of officials at Geneva. It worked under the direction of the Secretary
General of the League. It kept records and supplied information.
- The Court of International Justice
– was established by the assembly of the league at Hague. It dealt with
disputes referred to it by the assembly and council.
- The International Labour Organization
– was concerned with conditions of labor all over the world. Its object
was the raising of industrial conditions of the backward countries.
The
achievements and successes of the League
The
main purpose of the league was to prevent war. In this the league achieved good
success. It decided the disputes between Finland and Sweden and between Poland
and Lithuania. It settled the quarrel between Italy and Greece in 1923. Its
decision was accepted by Greece and Bulgaria in 1925 – the quarrel of these two
states was about frontier guards.
Work
of the international Justice
Up
to the end of 1936 the Court of International Justice dealt with seventy-one
cases. Of these, forty-three were international disputes. Had they not been
settled by the court; they would have led to war. The rest of the cases were
requests for opinions.
Work
of the International Labor Organization
By
the end of 1936, the International Labor Organization drafted fifty-eight draft
conventions. They dealt with many topics.
Other
activities of the league
The
league tried to suppress slavery wherever it was found. It considered many
economic and financial problems. It improved the standard of colonial
administration. For e.g., it administered the Saar and the city of Danzing.
The
failure of the League of Nations
The
league failed on many occasions. It could not prevent the war between Russia
and Poland in 1920-21 and between Turkey and Greece in 1920-22. It failed to
induce the greater powers to take action of the question of disarmament. The
disarmament conference met at Geneva in 1922, but the results were
disappointing. The conference met again in 1934, but again no satisfactory
result was achieved. By this time Germany was in a war-like mood. She withdrew
from the league and increased her armaments. Other powers also did so. The
league failed to check on them.
Causes
for the failure of the League of Nations
There were many causes for the failure of the League of Nations
- The League was based on idealism. The
league encouraged the ideal of brotherhood. This ideal could not be successful
because national feelings had become strong after World War I
- The League was weak from the very
beginning. The reason was that many states of the world did not join it. Those
who joined it left it in the course of time. For e.g. United States refused to
join the League. Germany joined the League in 1926 and withdrew from the league
in 1934. Russia did not become a member till 1934. Japan and Italy withdrew
from the league in 1934 and 1936 respectively.
- People felt that the league was an Anglo-French
organization as it promoted British and French interests. So other states were
not interested in it.
- The nations also felt that it was part
of the vindictive treaty of Versailles and so the league became unpopular.
- The league had no power to take action
against the great powers. Japan, Germany, and Italy did not obey the decisions
taken, but nothing was done against them.
- The great powers refused to honor their
pledges and obligations. Treaties were violated.
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