· Discourages the use of war as a means of solving disputes.
· This approach rests upon the notion that war is a technique that nations have the power to administer to solve a dispute.
· Attempts to prevent the notion of using war as a tool for conflict solving.
· “War is a kind of national temper tantrum.”
· Statesmen should use their heads and diplomatic techniques to prevent war.
· Provisions of the League of Nations Covenant proposed to hold a “cooling off” period in order to ease tension.
· The theory believes that time will heal wounds, and ultimately war can and will be averted.
(Claude, Jr. 219)
· A commitment that international machinery could help prevent war and instill a traditional diplomatic process.
· This idea fell primarily in the Council of the League of Nations-this marked the first time in history that a system of mediation was brought into the international sphere, and ultimately developed a new path of the attainment of peace.
· “The council displayed admirable inventiveness and wisdom in developing the organizational structure and techniques required for pacific settlement.”
(Claude, Jr. 225)
· Greek troops crossed into Bulgaria after a shooting incident at the border.
· Strong diplomatic pressure exerted by France and Britain, acting through the Council of the League. This pressure brought a rapid cease-fire and a Commission of Inquiry was thus implemented.
· Ultimately the pressure from the Council, resulted in Bulgaria not taking any military action against its aggressor. And Greece was partially appeased when it received economic aid. For the next two years, after the cease fire, a small group of observers from the League of Nations, was placed to arbitrate any further border dispute.
(Armstrong, Lloyd, Redmond, 39)
· “Collective security was the name given by the partners of the new world order after World War I to the system for maintenance of international peace that they intended as a replacement for the system commonly known as the balance of power” (Claude, Jr. 247).
· Involved a new scheme of designed to suppress aggression from one state towards another (247).
· This scheme involved economic sanctions, diplomatic boycotts, and military sanctions (247).
· Belief that all wars do not arise from the same situation—a second line of defense of war, after the pacific settlement (249).
· Assumption of collective security “is simply that wars are likely to occur and that they ought to be prevented” (249).
· “Unchecked aggression in one direction emboldens and helps to empower its perpetrator to penetrate in other directions, or, more abstractly, successful use of lawless force in one situation contributes to the undermining of respect for the principle of order in all situations” (251).
· Rejects the isolationist idea of localizing wars. The events in one part of the world will effect another area (251).
Covenant of the League of Nations (Article 10)
“The member of the League undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members of the League. In case of any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such aggression the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.”
Article 11
“Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of the Members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations…”
“In the final analysis, the members of the League could never bring themselves to adopt in policy the collective security system which they had ratified in the covenant.” (Claude, Jr. 264)
Collective Security Case Study (Italian
Aggression in Ethiopia, 1935)
· “Rests upon the assumption that national military resources do not merely make war physically possible, but that they figure significantly among the factors which make war a political probability” (Claude, Jr. 287).
· Throughout the years of the League, disarmament came to the forefront time and time again (294).
· Extra-League Negotiations included:
Washington Conference of 1921-1922
London Naval Conference of 1930
Disarmament Conference of 1932
· Refers to the form approach to peace where statesmen are able to debate and the approach that talk may very well appease any military action (336)
· The greatest impact of the Assembly in the League of Nations, was the function it presented as an international forum to express international opinion (Armstrong, Lloyd, Redmond, 59)
· For the first time, statesmen could discuss issues as a whole (59)
· The assumption that colonialism is one of the reasons for war during modern times (Claude, Jr. 349).
· War prevention function (349).
· The League of Nations established the Mandate System (354).
Article 22
“To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the States which formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the well-being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of civilization and that securities for the performance of this trust should be embodied in this Covenant.”
· “The development of international economic and social cooperation is a major prerequisite for the ultimate solution of political conflicts and elimination of war” (Claude, Jr. 379).
· Political cooperation can most easily develop at limited attempts of cooperation such as economic issues (Armstrong, Lloyd, Redmond 22).
· Bringing countries together peacefully, rather than a peaceful separation (Claude, Jr. 379).
· This can be brought through establishing technical committees, and sponsoring of international conferences which analyzed different problems (391).
· Was an overall incorporation of multilateral efforts (391).
· Most redeeming factors of the League of Nations (391).
Disarmament
Case Study: Washington Conference (November 1921-February 1922)
Accomplishments:
Five Power Treaty
· Limitation of naval armaments
· United States, British Empire, Japan, France, and Italy limited themselves not to exceed a certain tonnage, individual size and fighting capabilities of its battleships, battle cruises, and aircraft carriers
· United States, British Empire, and Japan also bound themselves to create no new fortifications or naval bases in the Pacific islands
Four Power Treaty
· United States, British Empire, Japan, and France agreed to respect each other’s possessions and dominion in the Pacific sphere
· Each agreed to gather together if problems arose
· Support each other of their rights were threatened by an outside power
Nine Power Treaty
· Five Great Powers in addition to Holland, Portugal, Belgium, and China
· A mutual respect for China and to maintain the Open Door Policy which included equal opportunities for trade and investment
· If any party believed certain obligations were violated, there would be full communication and cooperation amongst the parties
*Overall the Conference failed to really
solve all problems of the disarmament process, and could be viewed as a
weakened form of Article 11. Land and
air armaments were not discussed, and the nations partaking in the conference failed
to agree on limitations of cruisers, destroyers, or submarines. The nations pledge to create no new naval
bases in the Pacific sphere created total Japanese control along the coast of
China. However, the Conference proved a
very powerful forum where disagreements were analyzed in full cooperation,
compromised, or thrown to the side before a breakdown in talks (Walters 440-443).
Under the Mandate of France
· The Lebanon
· Syria
Under the Mandate of Britain
· Iraq
· Palestine
· Transjordan
Under the Mandate of Britain
· Togoland
· The Cameroons
· Tanganyika
Under the Mandate of France
· Togoland
· The Cameroons
Under the Mandate of Belgium
· Ruanda-Urundi
· South West Africa: under the mandate of the Union of South Africa.
· The Marianas, Caroline, and Marshall Islands: under the mandate of Japan
· New Guinea (north-eastern part), New Ireland, New Britain, and the Solomon Isles: under the mandate of Australia
· Nauru: under the mandate of the British Empire exercised through Australia.
Western Samoa: under the mandate of New
Zealand. (Information found in Walters 172.)