Collective security was the idea that peace could be preserved by countries acting together – collectively – to prevent one country attacking another. Collective security was to be made possible through membership of the League of Nations. When there was a dispute between countries they would refer the issue to the League’s Assembly. If that body could not find a resolution, the Council could make decisions in order to gain compliance.  The League had three key ways to enforce its resolutions:

• First impose moral pressure
• Second, the Council could impose economic sanctions to force the country that was considered to be in the wrong to comply with its decisions.
• If the first two methods failed, member states could allow their armed forces to jointly impose the League’s resolution

The League met for the first time in Geneva in December 1920. Its key objective was to keep the peace and avoid future conflict by advising on and settling international disputes.

It also aimed to promote disarmament, supervise the mandated territories, and promote international goodwill and cooperation through its various organizations dedicated to social and economic development. The initial membership of the League was 32 Allied states and 12 neutral states; however, by 1926, all ex-enemy states had joined. The USSR was not admitted until 1934; the USA never joined.

There were 26 articles in the League’s Covenant (including amendments made in December 1924), which prescribed when and how the League was to operate.

• Articles 1–7 were concerned with the membership and organization of the League, its Assembly, Council, and Secretariat.
• Articles 8–17 were concerned with the prevention of war.
• Articles 18–21 concerned with treaty obligations and the League’s expectations of its member states.
• Article 22 concerned the mandated territories.
• Article 23 concerned humanitarian issues such as labour conditions, health concerns, the trafficking of women, children, drugs, and arms.
• Article 24 concerned the commissions.
• Article 25 promoted the Red Cross.
• Article 26 set down how amendments to the Covenant were made.

It was set down in the Covenant that member states should refer disputes to one of the following:

• the Permanent Court of International Justice
• arbitration (having a neutral person or group of people listening to and judging a dispute)
• an investigation or inquiry by the Council.

If member states failed to refer their disputes to the League, or failed to follow its recommendations, the League could then impose economic sanctions, the main tool for the League against aggressors. In the aftermath of World War One, in which the economic blockade of Germany had been effective, this economic weapon appeared to have the potential to be effective in forcing compliance with the League’s decisions.

In theory, the League could call for military action as a last resort against an aggressor. Yet the League did not have its own armed forces, and in reality member states did not want to put their sovereign forces under international control. In addition, the Covenant was rather ambiguous as to when and how such armed forces should be used. France had wanted an armed force, or League Army, but Britain had resisted this option. Thus the League lacked military teeth.

Two largely independent organisations that worked with the league was the International Court of Justice and the International Labour Organisation.  League also set up a number of agencies, committees and commissions to deal with issues that arose from the settlement and to redress social and economic issues.

US

Perhaps the key weakness of the League of Nations organisation was the absence of major powers.  This had a decisive impact on its work and influence.  It has also been seen as the key reason for the League ultimately failing to prevent another world war.

The most important absent major power was the US. The League had been promoted by the Americans and had been championed by President Woodrow Wilson in his 14 points.  The US Congress, however, was too concerned that membership would drag the Americans into more disputes and conflicts in Europe, and after the war it returned to a policy of isolationism. The US had played a pivotal role in bringing the First World War to an end, but it did not want to play a central role in the post-war period and in the fall out from the Versailles settlement.

The absence of the US seriously weakened the League’s ability to use ‘collective security’ against aggression, for several reasons:

1. World’s most powerful economy would have given the League’s economic sanctions real weight, but without it these were undermine.
2. Without the USA, the permanent members (except for Japan) were European and this meant it lacked the appearance of a genuinely ‘worldwide’ organization.
3. It highlighted that the new organization may not stop old-style agreements and treaties, as this was clearly how the US was going to secure its future relationships.
4. The League was primarily led by European powers that were arguably in decline.

USSR

The USSR was excluded from the League of Nations. The new communist government was seen as a threat to Europe and Asia and the western powers and Japan had invaded the country after the Bolsheviks had seized power.  There was real fear the ‘revolution of the workers’ would spread and the intention was to isolate the regime.

But the exclusion of Russia further weakened the League, as it could be claimed by the USSR that it was merely a ‘club for capitalists’ – which real aims was to protect and promote business interests and empires at the expense of the exploited masses. Soviet leader Lenin called the League ‘a robbers’ den which would exploit the ‘unjust spoils of Versailles’.

Germany

Germany was initially not permitted to join the League and this suggested that the League was a ‘victors’ club’ – the four permanent members of the Council were the victorious Allies. In addition, the exclusion ignored the fact that Germany remained a strong power in 1920, despite the war and the treaty.  It had a geographically important position in Europe and retained much of its economic power. It would also have been more effective to include Germany in the League so that it could work towards some negotiation and revision of the Treaty of Versailles within the confines of the League’s machinery.