Explain the aims and structure of the League of Nations and the reasons for its weaknesses in the 1920s and 1930s

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain why the League of Nations was created after the First World War, what it was meant to do, how it was organised, and why it was weak from the very beginning. You should be able to describe its aims (especially keeping the peace through "collective security") and its structure, and then explain the built-in weaknesses, such as the absence of major powers and the lack of an army, that limited what it could achieve. This dot point sets up the later story of how the League failed to stop aggression in the 1930s.

The answer

Why the League was created

The League of Nations was born out of the horror of the First World War. Around the world, people were determined that such a slaughter must never happen again. The strongest supporter of the idea was the American President Woodrow Wilson, who made a League the last of his Fourteen Points. The League was written into the peace treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles, and began work in 1920. Its basic idea was simple and hopeful: if all nations joined together and cooperated, they could settle disputes peacefully and stop any aggressor before war broke out.

The aims of the League

The League had several linked aims. Its chief aim was to keep the peace through "collective security": the idea that if one member was attacked, all the others would act together against the aggressor, so no country would dare to start a war. It aimed to encourage disarmament, so that nations reduced their weapons and the arms race did not return. It aimed to settle international disputes by discussion and arbitration rather than fighting. And, through its various commissions, it aimed to improve life around the world by tackling problems such as disease, refugees, slavery and poor working conditions.

How the League was organised

The League was based in Geneva, in neutral Switzerland. It had several parts. The Assembly was a kind of parliament where every member had a vote and which met once a year. The Council was a smaller body of leading members that met more often to deal with crises. There was a permanent Secretariat (the civil service) and a Court of International Justice to settle legal disputes. A number of agencies and commissions handled social and humanitarian work. To take action, the League could use moral condemnation, economic sanctions (cutting off trade with an aggressor), or, in theory, military force provided by members.

Weakness 1: missing the great powers

The League's greatest weakness was that key powers were absent. The United States, whose own President had created the idea, never joined, because the American Congress voted against it and chose isolation. Germany was not allowed to join at first (as a defeated enemy) and the Soviet Union was also excluded in the early years. This left Britain and France as the leading members. Without the United States in particular, the League lost enormous economic and military weight and looked less like a true union of all nations.

Weakness 2: no army and slow decisions

The League had no army of its own. If it wanted to stop an aggressor by force, it had to ask member states to provide troops, and those states were usually reluctant to risk their own soldiers or money. Economic sanctions were its main weapon, but they only worked if all members applied them, and they could be avoided if a powerful non-member kept trading. Worse, most decisions had to be unanimous, so any one member could block action. Britain and France often disagreed and put their own national interests first. The result was a body that could talk and protest but found it very hard to act quickly or firmly.

Examples in context

Example 1. Early successes in the 1920s. The League was not a total failure. It settled some smaller disputes peacefully, such as a quarrel between Sweden and Finland over the Aaland Islands, and its agencies did valuable social work, helping refugees, fighting disease and improving working conditions. These successes show the League could work well when dealing with smaller states and humanitarian problems, where the great powers' interests were not at stake.

Example 2. Sanctions without America. Economic sanctions were the League's main weapon, but they depended on every important trading nation taking part. Because the United States was not a member, it could keep trading with an aggressor, which would undermine the sanctions. This problem would become painfully clear later in the 1930s, and it shows why the absence of the world's largest economy was such a serious weakness.

Try this

Q1. What is meant by "collective security"? [3 marks]

• Cue. The idea that if one member of the League was attacked, all the others would act together against the aggressor, so no country would dare to start a war.

Q2. Explain why the absence of the United States weakened the League of Nations. [5 marks]

• Cue. America was the world's strongest economy and the founder of the idea; without it the League lost authority and economic weight, and sanctions were less effective because America could keep trading with an aggressor.

Q3. "The League of Nations was doomed to fail from the start." How far do you agree? [8 marks]

• Cue. Argue its built-in weaknesses (absent powers, no army, unanimity) were serious, but note its real successes in the 1920s; judge whether failure was inevitable or due to later events.