LEAGUE OF NATIONS

 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

1. The Assembly – It contained representatives of all member states. It was to meet at Geneva in September of every year to decide important issues.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

WORLD WAR I

A great war or a great revolution cannot begin suddenly. Neither of them begins due to one cause. It is the result of many causes. All these causes are closely connected with one another. So was the case with World War I.

Causes

Nationalism – An important cause of the war was nationalism. Nationalism began in the 14th and 15th centuries. In the beginning the movement of nationalism was not harmful. Its aim was the boundaries of nationalities and the boundaries of state should be the same. The congress of Vienna did not care for the feeling of nationalism. So there were national risings in many countries of Europe. The people there wanted the right of self – determinism. By the end of the 19th century, nationalism took a new shape. It became aggressive. All the nations began to give importance to themselves. Their patriotism became intolerant. The people of one country began to be hated by those of the other. This hatred was responsible for the war.

Imperialism – The countries of the west wanted to expand their colonies to get raw materials for their industries as well as markets for their finished goods. The race for colonies in Asia and Africa led to rivalries among nations. For e.g. England and France had the largest number of colonies.

Armaments – Some of the countries of Europe had entered into rivalry for colonies. As a result they had to prepare themselves to fight against others. So the great powers of Europe prepared themselves for war. Huge sums of money began to be spent on armaments and army. Countries thus prepared for war do not make concessions to others. The keenest rivalry was between Germany and France. The armament makers made good money, so they fanned the flame of rivalry. Thus, the period from 1870-1913 was a period of ‘armed peace’. In such a period there could be no hope of security. Even a very slight cause was enough to plunge the world into war.

Secret diplomacy – Secret diplomacy was also a cause of the war. Germany, Austria and Italy had formed the triple Alliance. England, France and Russia had formed the triple Entente. Thus, Europe was divided into two ‘armed camps’. These camps grew suspicious of each other.

Other causes – There were also many other causes of the war. There were 4 important international events. Two of these happened in Morocco between Germany and France. The other two happened in the Balkan region between Russia and Austria Hungary. Fortunately none of these happenings led to war. But they did increase the tension among the nations.

Immediate cause – Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo in Bosnia. The suspects were Serbs, so Austria held Serbia responsible for the murder. Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia. She wanted Serbia to accept the ultimatum within forty-eight hours.

The break out of the war – Serbia accepted many demands of Austria. England, France and Russia tried to induce Austria. Their efforts proved useless. Austria did not feel satisfied. On July 8, 1914, Austria declared war upon Serbia. Soon the flames of war spread far and wide. It assumed the form of a world war. The war came to an end on November 11, 1918, when an armistice was concluded. It was followed by the Paris Peace Conference.