Source Analysis Practice
Part of League Successes — GCSE History
This source analysis covers Source Analysis Practice within League Successes for GCSE History. Revise League Successes in Conflict and Tension 1918-1939 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 8 of 14 in this topic. Use this source analysis to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 8 of 14
Practice
8 questions
Recall
5 flashcards
📜 Source Analysis Practice
Applying NOP Analysis:
Nature: An official League of Nations Council report — a formal legal document setting out the Commission's binding ruling on a territorial dispute.
Origin: Produced by the League of Nations Commission of Inquiry in June 1921, at the request of both Sweden and Finland, who had agreed to submit the dispute to the League for arbitration.
Purpose: To provide a legally authoritative ruling that both governments could accept, ending the dispute without war. The report's tone is deliberately legalistic to signal impartiality.
Grade 9 Model Paragraph:
This source is useful for studying the League's work in the 1920s because it demonstrates the League successfully acting as an impartial arbitrator. The ruling references both geography and "the expressed wishes of that population" — reflecting Wilson's principle of self-determination — which made the decision difficult for Sweden to reject publicly. This makes the source useful for showing HOW the League's moral authority functioned: a ruling framed in terms of fairness carried more weight than a simple decree. However, its utility is limited because the source only shows a successful case. It cannot explain why the same method failed when major powers like Italy were involved — as the Corfu Incident (1923) would demonstrate just two years later.