Explain why the League of Nations failed to prevent aggression in the 1930s, using Manchuria and Abyssinia, and how this contributed to the Second World War

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain why the League of Nations failed to prevent aggression in the 1930s, using the key examples of the Manchurian crisis (1931) and the Abyssinian crisis (1935), and how this failure helped lead to the Second World War. You should be able to explain the reasons for the failure (the League's lack of an army, its reliance on weak sanctions, the self-interest of Britain and France, and the impact of the Depression) and how each crisis exposed the League's weakness. The task is explanation: link the League's failures to the growing confidence of aggressors and the drift toward war.

The answer

From hope to failure

In the 1920s the League of Nations had some successes and seemed to offer hope of lasting peace. But in the 1930s it faced a much harder test: aggression by powerful states. The Great Depression after 1929 made the situation worse, because countries focused on their own economic survival and were less willing to cooperate or to take risks for collective security. When determined aggressors challenged the League, its built-in weaknesses, especially its lack of an army and the self-interest of its leading members, were cruelly exposed.

The Manchurian crisis, 1931

The first great test was the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931. Japan, a member of the League, seized this region of China by force. China appealed to the League, which sent a commission to investigate. The commission took a long time, and eventually condemned Japan as the aggressor and called for it to withdraw. But the League had no army to enforce this, and its members would not risk war or impose serious sanctions, partly because Manchuria was far away and they had their own troubles in the Depression. Japan simply ignored the League and walked out of it in 1933, keeping Manchuria. The League had been openly defied and could do nothing.

The Abyssinian crisis, 1935

An even more damaging failure came when Mussolini's Italy invaded Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) in 1935. This was a clear act of aggression against a fellow member, and it happened in Africa, much closer to Europe. The League declared Italy the aggressor and imposed economic sanctions. But the sanctions were deliberately weak: they did not include oil, which Italy needed for its war, and the Suez Canal, controlled by Britain, was kept open so Italy could move troops and supplies. Worst of all, Britain and France secretly drew up a plan (the Hoare-Laval Pact) to give Mussolini most of Abyssinia in return for peace. When this leaked, there was public outrage, but the damage was done. Italy conquered Abyssinia, and the League's authority was shattered.

Why the League failed

These crises revealed why the League could not stop aggression. It had no army of its own, so it depended on economic sanctions, which only worked if applied fully by all members. The leading members, Britain and France, put their own interests first: they feared war, wanted to protect their trade, and even hoped to keep Italy as a friend against Germany, which is why they undermined sanctions over Abyssinia. The Depression made all states more selfish and inward-looking. And the absence of the United States, together with the departure of Japan and later Germany, left the League weaker still. In the end it could condemn aggression with words but could not back them with action.

Examples in context

Example 1. Japan walks out of the League. When the League condemned Japan over Manchuria, Japan's response was simply to leave the organisation in 1933 and keep its conquest. This showed every other state that a powerful aggressor could defy the League with no real consequences. It set a dangerous precedent that Italy and then Germany would follow, undermining the whole idea of collective security.

Example 2. The Hoare-Laval Pact. The secret plan by the British and French foreign ministers to give Mussolini most of Abyssinia, in the hope of keeping Italy friendly against Germany, is the clearest example of how self-interest destroyed the League. When the plan leaked, the public was outraged and the ministers were disgraced, but the episode proved that the League's leading members would betray collective security for their own strategic ends.

Try this

Q1. Which country invaded Abyssinia in 1935? [3 marks]

• Cue. Italy, under Mussolini, invading Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia).

Q2. Explain why economic sanctions failed to stop Italy over Abyssinia. [5 marks]

• Cue. The sanctions left out oil, which Italy needed, and the Suez Canal stayed open; Britain and France would not enforce strong measures, hoping to keep Italy as an ally, so the sanctions were too weak to work.

Q3. "The League of Nations failed in the 1930s mainly because it had no army." How far do you agree? [8 marks]

• Cue. Argue the lack of force mattered, but weigh it against the self-interest of Britain and France, the impact of the Depression and the absent powers before judging.