← Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919-1946
Focus Study 3: The search for peace and security 1919-1946
The League of Nations and the system of collective security, including the major crises of the 1930s (Manchuria 1931, Abyssinia 1935, Rhineland 1936) and the reasons for the League's failure
A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Core Study dot point on the League of Nations. The structure, the major crises (Manchuria, Abyssinia, Rhineland), the reasons for failure, and the verdict of historians including Northedge and Henig.
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What this dot point is asking
NESA expects you to understand the League of Nations as the central institution of the interwar peace, its structure and powers, and the crises that revealed its weaknesses. Section I source questions on this topic typically combine a political cartoon with a written source and ask you to explain or assess the League's failure.
The answer
Origins and structure
The League was established by Part I of the Treaty of Versailles. The Covenant (26 articles) entered into force on 10 January 1920. Headquarters were in Geneva. The League had four main organs.
The Assembly included all member states with one vote each, meeting annually. The Council consisted of four (later five) permanent members (initially Britain, France, Italy, Japan; Germany joined 1926, USSR joined 1934) and rotating non-permanent members. The Secretariat ran administration. The Permanent Court of International Justice sat at The Hague.
Specialised bodies included the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Health Organisation, the High Commissioner for Refugees (under Fridtjof Nansen, who introduced the Nansen Passport in 1922), and the Mandate Commission overseeing former German and Ottoman territories.
Collective security
Article 10 committed members to respect each other's territorial integrity. Article 16 obliged members to apply economic sanctions against any state breaking the Covenant. Military force was permissible but never compulsory. Council decisions required unanimity.
Early successes (1920s)
The League settled the Aaland Islands dispute (Finland vs Sweden, 1921), the Upper Silesia partition (1921), and the Greek-Bulgarian border crisis (1925). The Geneva Protocol (1924) attempted to strengthen collective security; Britain refused to ratify. The Locarno Treaties (December 1925) brought Germany into the European order, and Germany joined the League in September 1926.
Refugee, health, and labour work continued throughout. Ruth Henig (The League of Nations, 2010) argues these technical successes are routinely underrated.
Crisis 1: Manchuria (September 1931)
The Mukden Incident (18 September 1931): Japanese officers staged an explosion on the South Manchurian Railway and blamed Chinese forces. The Kwantung Army invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo (February 1932).
The League sent the Lytton Commission, which reported in October 1932 that Japan was the aggressor. The Assembly endorsed the report (February 1933) by 42 votes to 1 (Japan). Japan withdrew from the League (27 March 1933). No sanctions were imposed. The Great Depression made western governments unwilling to risk a Pacific confrontation.
Crisis 2: Abyssinia (October 1935 to May 1936)
Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia) on 3 October 1935. Emperor Haile Selassie appealed to the League. Article 16 sanctions were imposed (18 November 1935): an arms embargo, financial sanctions, and a ban on certain Italian imports. Oil, coal, steel, and the Suez Canal were deliberately excluded so as not to provoke Italy into leaving the British and French camp.
The Hoare-Laval Pact (December 1935), a secret Anglo-French plan to partition Abyssinia in Italy's favour, leaked in the French press. Hoare resigned. Italy completed conquest by 9 May 1936. Haile Selassie's June 1936 speech to the Assembly ("It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.") remains the standard primary source.
Crisis 3: Rhineland (March 1936)
On 7 March 1936, Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland in direct violation of Articles 42 to 44 of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties. The German force was small and under orders to retreat if challenged. France did not respond; Britain offered no support for action. The League Council condemned the violation but took no enforcement action. The Maginot Line strategy was now meaningless.
Why the League failed
Structurally: no army, unanimity rule, voluntary military enforcement.
Politically: the United States was absent from the start, the USSR for the first 14 years, Germany after 1933, Japan after 1933, and Italy after 1937. Of the great powers, only Britain and France remained, and both were unwilling to risk their own forces for collective security in the Depression years.
Strategically: by 1936, three precedents of unpunished aggression (Manchuria, Abyssinia, Rhineland) had taught Hitler that the democracies would not enforce their commitments.
Historiography
F.S. Northedge (The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1986) frames the League as a victim of great-power unwillingness rather than institutional design.
Ruth Henig (The League of Nations, 2010) defends the League's technical work and argues the political failures of the 1930s should not erase its achievements.
Susan Pedersen (The Guardians, 2015) emphasises the League's role in shaping the mandate system and modern international institutions.
Crises timeline
| Date | Crisis | League response | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Sept 1931 | Mukden Incident; Japan invades Manchuria | Lytton Commission (Oct 1932) | Japan leaves League (Mar 1933) |
| Oct 1933 | Germany leaves League | None | Hitler unconstrained |
| 3 Oct 1935 | Italy invades Abyssinia | Sanctions imposed Nov 1935 (excluding oil) | Conquest complete May 1936 |
| Dec 1935 | Hoare-Laval Pact leaks | Hoare resigns | Collective security discredited |
| 7 Mar 1936 | Hitler remilitarises Rhineland | Council condemns | No action |
| 1937 | Italy leaves League | None | Axis consolidating |
| Mar 1938 | Anschluss | None | Versailles dead |
| Dec 1939 | USSR expelled after invading Finland | Last meaningful action | League finished |
How to read a source on this topic
Section I sources on the League are typically political cartoons (David Low's "Doormat" series, Punch cartoons, German anti-League cartoons), photographs of Geneva sessions, or extracts from speeches (Haile Selassie's June 1936 appeal is the standard primary source). Three reading habits.
First, identify the national perspective. A Low cartoon represents disillusioned British liberal opinion. A 1933 German source celebrating Germany's withdrawal reads the League very differently. The same institution is praised, blamed, or mocked depending on the source's origin.
Second, fix the moment in the crisis sequence. A 1925 source (Locarno) shows the League at its high point. A 1933 source reflects Manchuria; a 1936 source reflects Abyssinia. The League's authority changes year by year.
Third, weigh rhetoric against action. Haile Selassie's speech is rhetorically powerful but evidence of the League's failure, not its strength. Treat condemnation without enforcement as a key analytical category.
Common exam traps
Calling the League "a failure" without qualification. Cite Henig and Pedersen and note the 1920s successes.
Forgetting the United States. The US never joined. This is the single most important structural weakness.
Confusing dates of the crises. Manchuria (1931), Abyssinia (1935-1936), Rhineland (March 1936). Memorise them.
Skipping Hoare-Laval. It is the most-tested aspect of the Abyssinian crisis.
In one sentence
The League of Nations, established by the Covenant (1920), succeeded in technical and humanitarian work in the 1920s but failed at collective security in the 1930s through Manchuria (1931), Abyssinia (1935-1936), and the Rhineland (March 1936), a failure that Northedge attributes to the unwillingness of Britain and France to enforce the Covenant against fellow great powers.
Past exam questions, worked
Real questions from past NESA papers on this dot point, with our answer explainer.
2020 HSC (verbatim)5 marksHow does Source A provide insight into why the League of Nations lacked authority?Show worked answer →
A 5-mark "how does Source A provide insight" requires source analysis plus own knowledge.
Step 1: Read the source. Section I sources on the League are commonly David Low political cartoons (the "Doormat" cartoon, October 1933, showing the League being trampled by Japanese militarism; or "The Doormat," July 1936, on the failures of collective security). Note the date, the artist, and the visual rhetoric.
Step 2: What the source shows. A Low cartoon typically depicts the League as weak, hollow, or absurd: a small figure beside large aggressors; an empty chair; a doormat. The source captures contemporary British opinion turning against collective security.
Step 3: Own knowledge of why authority was lacking. Three structural reasons. (1) Absent great powers: the US never joined, the USSR was excluded until 1934, Germany joined 1926 and left 1933, Japan left 1933, Italy left 1937. (2) No standing army: Article 16 mandated economic sanctions only; military enforcement was voluntary. (3) Unanimity rule: Council decisions required unanimous agreement, paralysing response.
Step 4: The crises that exposed it. Manchuria (1931-1933), Abyssinia (1935-1936), Rhineland (March 1936). The League condemned, but did not enforce.
F.S. Northedge (The League of Nations, 1986) attributes the failure to great-power unwillingness. Markers reward source description plus three to four substantive structural points.
Practice (NESA)8 marksUsing Source B and your own knowledge, account for the failure of the League of Nations in the 1930s.Show worked answer →
A band 6 response for 8 marks needs four substantive causes, source integration, and historiography.
Cause 1: Structural weakness. The League had no standing army. Article 16 of the Covenant required member states to apply economic sanctions; military enforcement was voluntary. Decisions in the Council required unanimity, paralysing responses to aggression.
Cause 2: Absent great powers. The US Senate (led by Henry Cabot Lodge) refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, so the US never joined. The USSR was excluded until 1934 and expelled (December 1939) after invading Finland. Germany joined in 1926 and left in 1933. Japan left in 1933 after Manchuria. Italy left in 1937.
Cause 3: Manchuria (September 1931). Japan invaded after the Mukden Incident. The League's Lytton Commission (October 1932) condemned the invasion. Japan rejected the report and withdrew from the League (March 1933). No sanctions followed.
Cause 4: Abyssinia (October 1935 to May 1936). Italy invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia). The League imposed limited sanctions but excluded oil, coal, and steel, and left the Suez Canal open to Italian shipping. The Hoare-Laval Pact (December 1935), a secret Anglo-French plan to partition Abyssinia in Italy's favour, leaked and discredited collective security entirely. Italy completed conquest by May 1936.
Historiography. F.S. Northedge (The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1986) argues the League was undone by the unwillingness of Britain and France to risk their own resources for collective security. Ruth Henig (The League of Nations, 2010) emphasises the League's positive achievements (refugee work, health, labour) and argues its failure was political rather than institutional.
Conclusion. The League failed because no great power was willing to enforce its decisions against another great power. Markers reward specific dates, all three crises, and a named historian.
2021 HSC (verbatim)5 marksAssess the value of Source A for understanding the reasons for establishing the United Nations.Show worked answer →
A 5-mark "assess the value" requires source analysis plus own knowledge of the UN's foundation.
Step 1: Likely sources. Section I sources on the UN are typically the Atlantic Charter (August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill), the UN Charter preamble, photographs of the San Francisco Conference (April to June 1945), or extracts from speeches by Roosevelt or Truman.
Step 2: Value of the source. The source captures the wartime intent: a new collective security organisation that would not repeat the League's failures. The Charter (signed 26 June 1945) established a Security Council with five permanent members (US, USSR, UK, France, China), each with veto power, a standing peacekeeping role, and General Assembly with universal membership.
Why establish the UN? Three reasons. (1) The League's failures over Manchuria, Abyssinia, and the Rhineland in the 1930s. (2) The need to coordinate post-war reconstruction. (3) The Allied wartime alliance (the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, August to October 1944, drafted the Charter). The UN was deliberately designed with great-power consent built in (the veto), unlike the League's unanimity rule.
Limitations of the source. A single declaration or photograph cannot capture the negotiating compromises at Dumbarton Oaks and Yalta. The veto power, in particular, was politically contested.
Markers reward source description, three or four substantive points on UN origins, and at least one named reason for the new design.
Practice (NESA)5 marksExplain the significance of the Abyssinian Crisis (1935 to 1936) for the League of Nations.Show worked answer →
A 5-mark "explain" needs three significances developed with evidence.
Failure of collective security. Article 16 sanctions were imposed (November 1935) but deliberately excluded oil, coal, and steel, and the Suez Canal was left open. Italy continued the conquest.
Hoare-Laval Pact (December 1935). Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare and Pierre Laval secretly agreed to partition Abyssinia in Italy's favour. The plan leaked in the French press. Hoare was forced to resign. The episode showed Britain and France were unwilling to risk Italian friendship to defend a member state, in clear violation of Articles 10 and 16 of the Covenant.
End of credibility. Italy completed the conquest by 9 May 1936. Mussolini withdrew from the League in 1937. Hitler drew the lesson that the democracies would not enforce their commitments and remilitarised the Rhineland (7 March 1936) in the middle of the crisis.
F.S. Northedge described Abyssinia as the moment the League "ceased to be a serious factor in world affairs." Markers reward the sanctions detail, the Hoare-Laval scandal, and the link to Hitler's foreign policy.
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