League of Nations & International agreements Flashcards

1
Q

aims of league

A
  • uphold and enforce T of V
  • stop war by encouraging negotiation rather than aggression
  • disarmament- encourage countries to have smaller militaries
  • improve life and jobs of people around the world
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2
Q

important articles of covenant of league

A
  • article 10- collective security- any member threatened with war should be protected by other members
  • League was a peaceful organisation and so didn’t have a standing army
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3
Q

mitigation and its weaknesses

A

+ getting disagreeing countries to talk through problems
- could simply ignore league

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4
Q

moral condemnation and its weakness

A

+ publicly telling off and pressuring aggressor using guilt and shame to stop their actions
- aggressor could simply ignore the league

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5
Q

economic sanctions and its weakness

A

+ members of league wouldn’t trade with aggressors causing conflicts
- countries unwilling to stop trade as they also lose out
- countries such as USA not in league, so cannot enforce effectively

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6
Q

military action and its weakness

A

+ counties in league contribute towards an armed force to act against aggressor
- no standing army, so took time to build army
- countries unwilling to send troops in with WW1 in hindsight

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7
Q

countries absent from league

A
  • USA
  • Russia
  • Germany
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8
Q

Weakness of USA’s absence

A
  • hard to enforce trade sanctions when USA, a large trading partner of many were not in league
  • as it was idea of USA to create league, many felt this undermined its effectiveness/purpose
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9
Q

issues with league from start

A
  • USA’s absence
  • no standing army
  • Britain and France main countries, but neither were enthusiastic about it and were willing to undermine it
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10
Q

different parts of league

A
  • Assembly
  • Council
  • International court of Justice
  • special commissions
  • secretariat
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11
Q

what was the assembly

A
  • over 50 members, like league’s parliament
  • met once a year
  • needed unanimous vote to pass a decision
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12
Q

problems with assembly

A
  • with this many members, hard to reach a unanimous vote
  • hard to deal with rising issues when only met once. a year
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13
Q

what was international court of justice

A
  • had 15 judges
  • settled disputes between countries
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14
Q

problems with I.C of J

A
  • could only get involved if countries agreed to take problems to court
  • couldn’t make countries obey its decisions
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15
Q

what was the council

A
  • small, powerful group of members (Britain, France, Japan, Italy)
  • met 5 times a year to discuss urgent matters
  • permanent members had a veto
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16
Q

problems with council

A
  • Veto could prevent decisions being made, meaning smaller countries have almost no say
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17
Q

what was special commissions

A
  • groups/ task forces to handle issues around the world such as poverty, child labour etc
18
Q

what was the secretariat

A
  • administrators for the League
19
Q

what happened in Vilna, 1920

A
  • Poland invaded Vilna, capital of new state of Lithuania, as many Polish people living there
  • Lithuania, called League for help, so they asked Poland to remove troops
  • Poland ignored them, and took control of Vilna, with no further action taken against them
20
Q
  • What happened Ruhr, 1923
A
  • Germany failed to pay reparations, so France and Belgium invaded Ruhr
  • France didn’t consult League
  • France being one of main members yet undermining League shows its weakness and their failure to keep peace
  • Invasion of Ruhr eventually led to hyperinflation in Germany
21
Q

what happened in Corfu, 1923

A
  • league sent Italian officer Tellini to survey border between Greece and Albania, however he was killed
  • Mussolini demanded compensation from Greeks, despite them denying killing Tellini
  • Italy invaded Greek island of Corfu
  • League morally condemned Italy but were ignored, and France backed Italy as they didnt want their actions in Ruhr to be brought to light
  • greece made too apologise and pay compensation to italy
22
Q

Who was Gustav Stresemann

A
  • German politician
  • Became chancellor briefly I 1923, before becoming foreign minister
23
Q

What were Locarno treaties 1925

A
  • An agreement posed by Germany to France to agree to not to invade one another and agreed borders
  • Also signed by Britain, Italy, Belgium and Czechoslovakia
24
Q

Significance of Locarno treaties

A
  • Shows end to German resentment of TofV
  • Improved relations between Germany and other nations, so much so that they joined LofN following year
  • Some say it shows weakness of LofN, as they had nothing to do with it
25
Q

What was Kellogg-Briand pact 1928

A
  • an agreement between 65 countries agreeing not to use war as a way to solve disputes
  • happened outside LofN as USA were involved
26
Q

Significance of Kellogg-Briand pact

A
  • Shows countries new ideology of peace
  • shows weakness of LofN as once again, they were uninvolved- gives idea that they are useless at finding practical solutions
27
Q

How did great depression effect league of Nations

A
  • Hitler and Mussolini not afraid to use violence to get what they want
    -unafraid of moral condemnation
  • countries didnt want to send armies to help League due to depression
  • economic sanctions were hard due to depression- people didn’t want to stop trading with other countries
28
Q

Why did Japan want Manchuria

A
  • Japanese industry in decline due to depression
  • Manchuria had fertile farmland and natural resources
  • Japanese already owned large industries, the south Manchurian railway, and an army in the area
29
Q

What happened in the Mukden incident

A
  • On September 19th 1931 there was an explosion on south Manchurian railway
  • Japanese army claimed it had been attacked by Chinese soldiers
  • Chinese denied this
  • Japanese army used this as an excuse to take over Manchuria
30
Q

Why was the league reluctant to act on Manchurian crisis

A
  • Didn’t want a big fight
  • Many felt Japan owned Manchuria anyway
  • Far removed from the League’s HQ in Geneva
  • Japan a powerful member of the league
31
Q

Why were the league UNABLE to act in Manchurian crisis

A
  • Japan simply ignored Moral condemnation and command to withdraw troops
  • Members of league couldn’t afford to send troops due to depression
  • Couldn’t impose economic sanctions as their main trading partner was USA, who weren’t in league
32
Q

What did the League end up doing in Manchurian crisis

A
  • Sent commission of enquiry led by Lord Lytton to investigate- travelled to Japan by boat, showing lack of urgency of league
33
Q

What did the Lytton report in 1932 conclude

A
  • Japan was in the wrong
34
Q

Outcomes of Manchurian crisis

A
  • Japan still chose to ignore the league, despite Lytton report, and left the league
  • Japan continued to invade china and controlled most major Chinese cities by 1938
  • League seen as weak
35
Q

Why did Mussolini want Abyssinia

A
  • Wanted to rebuild Roman Empire
  • Thought Britain and France couldn’t object as they owned so many colonies in that region
  • owned small colonies bordering Abyssinia
  • rich in natural resources
  • Mussolini had confidence due to the Stresa front with Britain and France
36
Q

What happened in December 1934

A
  • Italian soldiers clashed with Abyssinians at the Wal Wal (on border between Somiliand and Abyssinia)
  • 150 Abyssinians and 2 Italians killed
37
Q

What happened in October 1935

A
  • Italy entered Abyssinia in spite of moral condemnation of league
  • Italians used latest technology to terrorise people into surrendering
38
Q

What happened on 5 may 1936

A
  • Italian troops took Abyssinian capital, despite Haile Selassie addressing the league about the issue
39
Q

Why did the league fail in Abyssinia

A
  • Trade sanctions only included weapons, however not coal and oil, therefore had little effect
  • Didnt close Suez Canal as they didnt want to upset Mussolini
  • Hoare-laval pact
40
Q

What was Hoare-Laval pact

A
  • Britain and France sent foreign ministers to come up with settlement to offer Italy
  • Decided that Italy would be given areas in Abyssinia, mainly the fertile regions
  • This land was not theirs to give and Abyssinia were not consulted at all
41
Q

Why did France and Britain not want to upset Mussolini

A
  • Scared he would leave Stresa front and join forces with Hitler
42
Q

Why was league destined to fail

A
  • No standing army
  • Only met once a year, council had vetoes- decision making was slow
  • not enough people to carry out decisions that were made
  • Powerful nations such as USSR, USA and Germany left out
  • Trade sanctions ineffective due to absence of USA
  • Countries unafraid of Moral condemnation
  • Great Depression made countries more concerned about their own problems
  • Depression led to extremist leaders who were keen to invade others
  • Britain and France too concerned about keeping Mussolini as an ally