Consequences of LoN Failures in 1930s

  • The League of Nations was shown to be ineffective and lost its purpose
  • Partially caused Japan, Italy, and Germany to form an alliance and be confident in aggressive action


    • The consequences of the Invasion of Manchuria
    • First time League was confronting major power
    • The League of Nations could not do much without the USSR and the US. When USSR joined, it was clear that it was focused on agricultural and industrial reform, which allowed Japan to continue its invasion
    • Failure of having effective action resulted into encouragement for countries to be aggressive as it was already shown that the League was ineffective against major powers


    The consequences of the Invasion of Abyssinia
    • Even though League of Nations quickly imposed economic sanctions, they excluded trade of war resources (eg. coal and oil)
    • League of Nations was called out for pretending to prioritise collective security, but instead actually trying to please Italy so it could be their ally
    • League was confirmed to be ineffective as collective security could not be prioritised over national interests
    • This encouraged Mussolini and Hitler’s aggressive behaviour in the years to come


    Failure of the League and Rearmament
    • As collective security was clearly ineffective, rearmament was needed for Britain and France to prevent Germany and Italy’s aggressive action
    • However, Britain and France had not rearmed as…
      • Money was scarce because of the Great Depression, and Britain and France did not spend much on arms
      • Collective security was used as an excuse to cover up that Britain and France could not rearm
      • People were against rearmament and war, and they had more trust in the League than politicians did


    Failure of the League and Appeasement
    • During the time Britain and France were setting up their defences to stand up to Germany, they adopted a policy of appeasement
    • This policy was used towards Mussolini (dictator of Italy), and Hitler (dictator of Germany)
    • Appeasement was an act of negotiating to fulfil demands of the dictators without resorting to war
    • Supported by majority of British and French politicians in 1935-39, but was opposed by Churchill


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