Reasons for the Weakness of the League of Nations (III)

3. Key Failures of the League in the 1930s

Two key incidents in the 1930s illustrate how the League failed to get its members to cooperate against aggressive powers.

I. Manchuria 1931

• The Japanese army occupied large areas of Manchuria and set up a puppet government there, renaming it Manchukuo.
• The League refused to recognise Manchukuo & asked it to be returned to China.
• Japan resigned from the League and pushed its forces further into China. The League failed to come to an agreement on sanctions against Japan.

II. Abyssinia 1935-1936

• Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935.
• The League responded by attempting to ban the sale of arms, rubber and several forms of metal to Italy. However, the sanctions were not very harsh and did not have much effect on Italy. Britain and France also entered into secret negotiations to resolve the conflict.
• In May 1936, the Emperor of Abyssinia was forced to flee and appealed to the League for help.
• However, Britain and France were unwilling to get involved militarily.
• Abyssinia was then conquered by Italy and Italy left the League in 1937.