Key Terms You Must Know

📖 Key Terms You Must Know

Conference of Ambassadors

A separate international body set up after WW1 to handle disputes that arose from the peace treaties. It was dominated by Britain and France. During the Corfu Incident (1923), Mussolini bypassed the League and appealed directly to the Conference of Ambassadors, which then overruled the League's own ruling. This was devastating — it showed that a major power could render League decisions meaningless simply by using a different forum. The episode demonstrated that the League operated at the pleasure of the great powers, not above them.

Economic sanctions

Penalties on an aggressor country through trade — refusing to buy from or sell to the aggressor nation. The League's primary non-military enforcement tool. In theory, if all League members refused to trade with an aggressor, the resulting economic damage would force it to back down. In practice, sanctions failed because: (1) the USA was not in the League and did not comply; (2) major powers (Britain, France) excluded key commodities to protect their own economies; (3) sanctions were imposed slowly and incompletely, giving aggressors time to adjust.

Collective security (in practice)

The gap between the principle and the reality of collective security is critical for this topic. In principle: all members defend any member attacked. In practice: members only acted collectively when it cost them little. When it required real military or economic sacrifice — as Manchuria and Abyssinia did — collective security collapsed. The Corfu Incident revealed this gap as early as 1923.

World Disarmament Conference (1932–34)

A League-sponsored international conference held in Geneva, intended to persuade all major powers to reduce their weapons. It collapsed without agreement. Germany demanded equality with France (either France disarms to Germany's level, or Germany is allowed to rearm). France refused without security guarantees. Hitler used the deadlock as justification for Germany's rearmament programme, announcing German withdrawal from both the Conference and the League of Nations in October 1933.

Vilna (1920)

The Lithuanian capital (now Vilnius) was seized by Polish forces under General Zeligowski in October 1920. Lithuania appealed to the League. The League ruled Poland should withdraw — Poland refused. France, which depended on Poland as an ally against potential German and Russian threats, would not support enforcing the ruling. The League backed down. Vilna remained under Polish control. This was the League's very first significant failure, occurring in its first full year of operation.