Why did the League Fail?

The League was perhaps the most exciting social and political experiment of ALL TIME, and its failure was a major setback in making the world a better place.

So why did it fail? The British politician Jack Straw, during a debate on whether Britain should go to war with Iraq (February, 2003), said he knew why:

• The League (of Nations) failed because it could not create actions from its words. It could not back diplomacy with the credible threat and, where necessary, the use of force. So small evils went unchecked, tyrants became emboldened, then greater evils were unleashed. At each stage good men and women said 'not now - wait, the evil is not big enough to challenge'. Then, before their eyes, the evil became too big to challenge.

If you know anything about the events of the 1930s, you have to say that he has a point ... but then, he was saying this during a debate in which he was trying to convince MPs that they ought to go to war!

You will need to study the website - http://www.johndclare.net/league_of_nations8.htm,

and you may want to read - http://www.johndclare.net/league_of_nations1_Answer.htm - to get the views of different historians.


Why do YOU think the League failed?

Think about the different ideas, and consider the factual evidence which might be produced to support each one....

And then have your say here...