On several occasions during the period between 1919 and 1936, the League of
Nations failed to deliver international peace between nations. This is one of the
factors that ultimately led to its demise.
Firstly the role and influence of the League itself will be looked at. Next, The direct
impact of the Great Depression upon international peace and the power of the League
is examined. Lastly, the major reasons for the failure of the League of Nations that
lead to its abandonment in the late 1930's will be discussed.
The League had been a major contributor to world peace in the period after World
War I and its concept of international co-operation to avoid further wars was a
The Leagues Covenant found its origins in Woodrow Wilson's 14 points for peace
after the end of World War I. This Covenant contained several articles pledging all
member nations to preserve the independence and territory of all nations against
aggression. Any disputes between nations were expected to be submitted to the
League for either arbitration by a third party or a investigation by the League Council.
Other main objectives of the league included; to encourage members to reduce their
armaments and to protect the independence of countries and safeguard their borders .
One of the main ideologies of the League was the concept of collective security. This
philosophy attempted to avoid wars by the united moving of all nations against any
nation that violated the peace. However this attitude was often not successful as
shown in the source "the present situation is as such that it has become necessary to
resort to other methods.......a failure of collective security as one of what has been
called 'collective pacifism'' Many believed the League of Nations to be "no more
than a debating body" as said by a representative of Finland in 1932.
The League made efforts to refrain from militar...