Summary
Highlights
The League of Nations' inability to secure disarmament was a significant factor in its failure. Despite being a key aim, only Germany disarmed by 1930. The World Disarmament Conference, held in 1932, collapsed due to the Great Depression, Japan's invasion of Manchuria, and Hitler's rise to power, which led to Germany's withdrawal from both the conference and the League itself by late 1933.
Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and Italy's invasion of Abyssinia in 1935 exposed the League's powerlessness. In Manchuria, despite the Lytton Commission's report recommending the return of Manchuria to China, Japan ignored the League and withdrew. Similarly, in Abyssinia, the League's sanctions against Italy were ineffective due to the reluctance of Britain and France to act, their imperial interests, and secret negotiations like the Hoare-Laval Pact. Italy conquered Abyssinia and subsequently left the League.
The Spanish Civil War, beginning in 1936, saw the League refuse to intervene, deeming it an internal matter. Germany and Italy violated the non-intervention agreement, and the League ignored this. In 1937, Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China. China's appeals to the League were met with sympathy but no action, as Britain and France were weakened by the Great Depression and committed to appeasement.
The effectiveness of the League depended on the commitment of major powers, which significantly diminished in the 1930s. Italy, Germany, and Japan all withdrew from the League when its actions conflicted with their national interests. Britain and France, burdened by economic woes and fear of war, prioritized their national interests over collective security. By the mid-1930s, the League had failed to achieve its core objectives, becoming powerless and irrelevant.