Key Terms You Must Know

📖 Key Terms You Must Know

Plebiscite

A direct vote by the population of a territory on a specific question — typically, which country they wish to belong to. The League used plebiscites to resolve territorial disputes, such as Upper Silesia (1921), where the population voted on whether to join Germany or Poland. The concept is directly linked to Wilson's principle of self-determination — let the people decide. However, the Treaty of Versailles did not hold plebiscites in all disputed territories (e.g., no plebiscite was held in Alsace-Lorraine, which was simply returned to France).

Collective security

The principle that all League members would unite to defend any member that was attacked. An attack on one was an attack on all. This was the League's central mechanism for deterring aggressors. In the 1920s, the principle was never fully tested. When tested in the 1930s by Japan and Italy, the failure of collective security destroyed the League's credibility as a peacekeeping organisation.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

One of the League's specialist agencies, created in 1919, dedicated to improving working conditions worldwide. It set international labour standards, campaigned against child labour, promoted an eight-hour working day, and opposed the use of lead in paint. The ILO is one of the League's most lasting legacies — it still exists today as a United Nations agency, making it arguably the League's most successful institution.

Mandate

A territory placed under the administration of a League member on behalf of the League. After WW1, Germany's overseas colonies were distributed as "mandates" to Britain and France, supposedly to govern in the interests of the local people until they were ready for self-government. In practice, it was colonialism under a different name. The mandate system was one of the League's more hypocritical aspects — it claimed to apply self-determination while allowing European powers to continue controlling African and Middle Eastern territories.

Nansen passport

An internationally recognised identity document created in 1922 for stateless people and refugees, named after Fridtjof Nansen, the League's High Commissioner for Refugees. Some 450,000 were issued and recognised by 52 countries. It was a genuine humanitarian achievement — for the first time, stateless people could travel internationally. It is a good example of the League's humanitarian work that tends to be overlooked in favour of its political failures.