Failure of Collective Security

Failure of Collective Security - Cole Austin - 1B

Thesis:

• Although the League of Nations was based upon a very appropriate set of international rules in a time of prosperity and economic uprise, a sudden downturn in the economy accompanied by  increasing global tensions and failures for certain nations to act due to protecting their own beliefs, the League soon took a nose dive, leading to a separation of powers and a gateway to the start of a new world war. 

Topic Sentences: 

• Combination of European states failure to deal with international crises 
• The league of Nations had all the right intentions, but failure to cooperate forces was a major downfall
• Rival nations can only be scared into friendship by the fear of a common greater enemy
• France, being a weaker nation, wanted an army capable of carrying out the League's decisions in case of resistance
• Great Britain rivaled France's opinions, being a more stable nation and not wanting to put its forces on the line 
• France was not given the money from Germany's reparation payments that its economy so desperately needed
• The Locarno Spirit gave hope to all nations during a prosperous time shortly after WWI

Concrete Details:

• Arbitration (third party judges dispute)
• Military as last resort against aggressor; economic sanction was first resort
• No League army existed - lacked real power militarily 
• In its 20 year life, never sought to use military action once
• League led by European nations that were in decline
• Lack of US in the League caused a very dramatic loss in economical power
• Great Britain and France almost always had opposite view points in the League
• Germany not admitted until 1926
• Many conflicts due to the changing of territorial agreements
• Territorial agreements over Aaland Islands, Vilna, Upper Silesia, Corfu, Mosel, and Bulgaria
• Draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance and Geneva Protocol were created by France and rejected by Great Britain 
• Germany fails to make reparation payments to France
• France, Italy and Belgium mover into the Ruhr - the Germans retaliated
• When Germany had to pay their workers for their retaliation, it caused hyper-inflation
• US enters conflict - causes Germany to continue to pay France but in lesser quantities
• Rapallo Treaty allowed German forces to be trained secretly in Russia; economic cooperation between nations
• The Young Plan: reduced payments by Germany, deadline set to 1988, further US involvement enforcing payments
• Kellogg-Briand Pact - gave ability to use war as an instrument of international relations
• The Great Depression caused economic faltering in the US and quite largely in Europe as well
• Russian influence of communism against capitalism caused worry 
• No country was comfortable using the League's sanction strategies once their economies started quivering 
• Japan framed bomb explosion as a means of invasion/expansion - was hungry to expand its power
• League ordered Japan to retreat from China and give back land that was taken - Jap gov agrees, military resists
• Japan leaves League in order to continue expanding in an aggressive manner 
• Failure to act upon Japan showed that the League was not very credible on its promises to take action
• Italy invades African nation, which in turn resides in the League for help
• Both France & Britain worked outside of the League to make agreements with Italy for personal benefits
• France and Britain refused to work through the League against Italy - Italy therefore conquered Abyssinia  

Commentary:

• One of its main reasons of failure was the absence of a very powerful nation - most were small players
• Failure of a nation to ever put forth its own forces caused a lack of military power in the League
• The absence of the US caused there to be no settlements between Great Britain and France's conflicts
• Some viewed the League as a "robbers den" simply protecting their spoils won over by the TOV
• League started out as a "victor's club" - the four nations that came out on top of WWI
• Germany's power economically and militarily was quite underestimated due to its unofficial defeat\
• The hyper-inflation of Germany's economy led to a much likelier outcome of a future war due to economical crash
• France did not mind the decrease in reparation payments that Germany owed them - happy US was involved again
• France's decision to invade the Ruhr without consulting the League questioned its credibility 
• The Locarno Spirit gave hopes of peace and cooperation between conflicting and opposing countries
• 1920s: "Europe had survived, but it was still on the sick list" 
• The economic crises caused revolt and therefore new leaders in Japan; Belgium/Poland improved border defenses 
• The refusal of the Japanese military showed the low level of control Japan had over its military
• The League failed to have any follow up actions against the Jap, highly caused by depression
• Due to location of Manchuria, military action was not very possible for any nation
• Nations weren't willing to apply the collective security idea because their motivations/position didn't match up
• Former allies had been separated, and Italy drew closer to Germany - British/Italian/French alliance had failed
• The League had officially failed and the idea of collective security had died as well