Examine the factors that hindered the successful establishment of collective security in either the period 1920–1930 or the period 1945–1955.
The IBO awarded this essay 15/20
IBDP Paper 3 History May 2021 Exam:
“The Great Depression caused the collapse of collective security.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Many
historians blame the collapse of collective security on the League of
Nations and its shortcomings, with Norman D. Palmer and Howard C.
Perkins themselves regarding it as a “complete failure as an instrument
for enforcement of collective security”.1 Nevertheless, it cannot be
ignored that the Great Depression gave origin to a series of events that
sparked aggression among powerful nations, thus accelerating the demise
of collective security. Therefore, this essay will analyze the rise of
Hitler, aggressive foreign policies and domestic economic affairs to
argue that the Great Depression did indeed cause the collapse of
collective security.
In
the words of A.J.P. Taylor, “the Great Depression put the wind in
Hitler’s sails”.2 Hitler’s rise to power initiated the collapse of
collective security by leading Germany out of the League of Nations. The
Great Depression was followed by a referendum to determine whether
Germany should remain a member of the League or leave the organization.
The results were overwhelmingly in favor of the latter and in November
1933, a mere nine months after Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor,
Germany announced its withdrawal from the League. This was a result of
increasing acceptance of extremist ideals in an act of pure desperation,
as is often the case during economic depressions. Germany’s departure
from the League made Hitler’s renunciation of collective security clear
and highlighted its weakness, setting the stage for Italy to also leave
the League in 1937 in order to avoid economic sanctions for the invasion
of Abyssinia.3 Collective security was also threatened by Hitler’s
rejection of the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles. After
the Western powers refused to grant Germany military equality, Hitler
initiated rapid militarization and, as a result, numerous violations of
the Treaty of Versailles. In 1935, Hitler announced the construction of a
new Luftwaffe (air force), the reinstitution of conscription and the
creation of an army of 500,000 men - which vastly exceeded the limits
set by the Treaty.4 Although Hitler’s militarization posed a threat to
the rest of Europe, no country acted to stop him early on. This is
because his intentions in Europe were still somewhat ambiguous and
taking military action against Germany at this stage would have seemed
unreasonable. This failure to act against Hitler in the early stages of
his leadership would eventually cause the collapse of collective
security as “only military force could undo that which Germany had
already accomplished”.5 The British and French governments condemned
Hitler’s decisions, with France also requesting an “extraordinary
session of the League Council to investigate German actions”, but no
action was taken by the League. Ultimately, the League of Nations’
status as a ‘peace-making’ organization rendered it useless in stopping
German expansion. That which should have been accomplished by the League
was impossible due to its lack of an army; and convincing Britain and
France to take military action with their recovering armies in the years
following the Great Depression was unlikely. Hesitance to act against
Hitler at this point in time may have been justified, however, as
factors such as the ten-year “Non-Aggression Pact” signed with Poland in
1934 gave the impression that Hitler’s intentions may have been
peaceful. Ultimately, Hitler’s rise to power as a result of the Great
Depression was a key factor in highlighting the weaknesses of the League
and collective security.
The
Great Depression also spiked nations’ sense of self-interest, giving
rise to fascism, and with it, aggressive foreign policies.6 In 1934,
“Italy was suffering from the depression, and a victorious war would
divert attention from internal troubles”,7 causing Mussolini to invade
Abyssinia by 1935. The invasion helped improve morale and a sense of
national pride as it avenged the Italian defeat at Adowa in 1896.
However, collective security was once again proven to be ineffective, as
the economic sanctions applied by the League did nothing to stop
Mussolini’s conquest. Similarly, Britain and France were reluctant to
take a stand against Mussolini in the hopes that Italy would remain
allied to them in a war against Germany, showing how the idea of
‘collective security’ was of secondary importance. Even Haile Selassie’s
appeal to the League council in 1936 was not acted upon, causing A.J.P.
Taylor to regard the League as a “sham” and “a failure”.8 Fascism and
Mussolini’s expansionist ideals that arose as a result of the Great
Depression caused a lack of faith in collective security, proving its
inability to resolve international conflicts. On the other hand, it can
be argued that the Italian attack on Abyssinia was inevitable due to
nationalist and colonialist ideals, along with the need to avenge the
Italian defeat that came thirty years prior. Additionally, there had not
been any plans to invade Abyssinia before 1934. The invasion was the
result of a border incident between Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland,
which Mussolini used as an excuse to intervene, providing a quick fix to
boost national morale.9 Regardless of the origin of Mussolini’s
decision to expand into Abyssinia, the need to redirect attention from
domestic problems was a result of the Great Depression, with one of the
byproducts being the collapse of collective security.
Another effect
of the Great Depression was the increased focus on countries’ domestic
economic situations rather than international peacekeeping. With a
collapsing economy, most countries could not afford to spend their
resources on international affairs. One example of this is Britain’s
reluctance to take action during the Manchurian incident of 1931 in
order to protect national interest.10
Britain had interests in Manchuria but, due to its economic struggles, a war against Japan for the sake of Manchuria was not an option.11 Collective security was of little concern after the Great Depression as, even if a country could afford to intervene in an international conflict, its entire population would consider it unjust to prioritize another country’s safety over their numerous domestic troubles. Economic interest abroad also became increasingly important in the 1930s, causing nations to prioritize investments over peace. At the time of the Manchurian incident, “the bulk of British investments were not in the northern but in the southern parts of China.”12 This explains why the British decided against action in Manchuria, as they had little to protect. When the Japanese fought the Chinese in Shanghai in 1932, on the other hand, Britain acted quickly to resolve the conflict. Clearly, the British had no interest in collective security as they ignored China’s appeal to the League just days after the invasion and only took action when their economic interests were at stake. However, British actions cannot entirely be blamed on financial factors. In 1931, the British Foreign Secretary, Sir John Simon, defended Japanese actions, claiming that Japan had a right to Manchuria.13 Therefore, it is possible that Britain did not want to interfere with what they believed was Japan’s rightful territory. It is clear that the Great Depression resulted in an urgent need to prioritize domestic economic affairs, thus shifting the focus away from international peace and undermining the system of collective security.
In
conclusion, the Great Depression played a major role in the collapse of
collective security. The depression gave rise to aggressive foreign
policies, particularly those of Mussolini and Hitler, and increased
nations’ need to prioritize their own interests. Mussolini and Hitler’s
actions showed the ineffectiveness of collective security, while
domestic economic interests prevented countries from acting upon appeals
to the League of Nations.
1 (Ebegbulem 26) 2 (Taylor)
3 (“Italy and Germany 1936 to 1940”) 4 (Kissinger) 5 (Emme 99) 6 (“What
role did the Great Depression play in causing the failure of the League
of Nations?”) 7 (Lowe 73) 8 (Taylor) 9 (“Italo-Ethiopian War | Causes,
Summary, & Facts”) 10 (“What role did the Great Depression play in
causing the failure of the League of Nations?”) 11 (Hecht 177) 12 (Hecht
178) 13 (Lowe 70)
The Great Depression, the financial plague, swiftly spread from its birthplace in Wall Street to the streets of London and of mainland Europe. The resulting recession caused mass chaos to unfold among the war-stricken European nations, while they were still trying to wholly recover from the devastating impact of the First World War. The Depression also further aggravated the already struggling nations while they were trying to find their footing again. This is evident when an ignominious Germany quickly turned to an extremist party to lead them back to prosperity. And when Italy and Japan decided to invade Abyssinia and Manchuria, respectively, in order to procure wealth and resources for their struggling economy. While such events would normally cause unease to the legislations of democratic Europe, they were instead focused with the concern of rebuilding their own economic collapse. This internal focus towards economic survival paved the way for the collapse of the League of Nations, and along with it the threat of a looming war. Robert Skidelsky argued that the Great Depression caused ‘a delayed reaction to the war,’ since Britain could no longer afford to serve ‘as Europe’s lender of last resorts.’ Considering the above described events, this essay will discuss how Britain’s weakened economy, caused by the Great Depression, predominantly brought about the collapse of collective security. And how its effects were further aggravated, by the demoralizing impact of the Treaty of Versailles to the nations of Japan, Germany, and Italy.
The combination of the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression provoked events which ultimately led to the collapse of the collective security. After the end of the First World War in 1918, all the involved nations met in the palace of Versailles, outside of Paris, to discuss the content of the armistice treaty. While Japan, being an Ally during the First World War, was promised territories in East Asia, if they won the war; after Germany was defeated, Japan expected to acquire a number of German territories in South East Asia but since Japan was not seen as a respected nation during the negotiations; they didn’t receive much of the land that they hoped to obtain. This didn’t sit well with the Japanese, and caused them to have an ambition of expanding their influence around East Asia. When the Great Depression hit, public morale was very low, and the Japanese isles slowly were becoming too small to host their ever-growing population. Their recently appointed emperor, Hirohito, and his military decided that occupying Manchuria would be immensely beneficial for their country, supplying them with much-needed resources, and living space for the expanding Japanese population. This brought about the idea of attacking Manchuria, and their breaking of a multitude of international treaties, which ultimately started the slow grinding process of the collapse of collective security, especially since Britain was no longer policing the world security. Despite the effect it had on Japan; the treaty’s main purpose was to declare that Germany was at fault for the war, and must pay reparations, disarm, and lose territories in Europe and their overseas colonies as a punishment (“Treaty of Versailles | Definition, Summary, Terms, & Facts.”). This treaty effectively humiliated the German people, and made quality of life in Germany increasingly difficult. Once the Great Depression effects struck Germany hard in 1929, the German morale and unemployment rates were at an all-time low. This left the German people searching for an answer, something that would get them out of their slump. Desperate for an answer, the German people started to listen to a public speaker from the extreme right Fascist Nazi party, Hitler. Although many Germans didn’t agree with everything that Hitler and the Nazis stood for; his speeches condemning the Treaty of Versailles, and calling all “Germans to Stand Together” were adored by the public, who seemingly felt like their last resort was to vote him and his party to power. A.J.P Taylor himself argues, ‘that the great depression put the wind in Hitlers sails’. Indeed, it appears that without the effects of the Great Depression, such events may not have transpired, and would not have further led to the collapse of collective security with Germany threatening a chance for peace time. Again the Germans, like the Japanese, went unchecked as a result of Britain no longer focusing on the unfolding world events, but rather concerned with their own economic struggles from the Depression. The Treaty of Versailles did not only cause unrest in Germany, but it was also seen as unfair in Italy. The Italians had switched sides in the First World War with the hope that they would gain land after the war had ended. In the Treaty of Versailles, Italy was given land, but it was substantially less land than they expected, and only acquired the Austro-German region of Tirol, plus they still had to pay reparations despite being on the winning side. This small gain of territory, and the ‘unjust’ reparations, made Italy feel that they were dealt a bad hand.
This bad feeling lingered throughout the 1920s and when the Depression hit, the Italian people’s morale was lower than ever, and Mussolini saw a way to kill a few birds with one stone. His invasion of Abyssinia would give them access to natural resources, that they desperately needed, while also adding territory to their ‘empire.’ Ultimately, this would boost morale by boosting the economy and also repairing the major problem Italians had with the Treaty of Versailles. This led to Mussolini’s interest in Abyssinia, subsequently setting up the breaking of international treaties and laws. These broken laws, again, pierced the bubble which was Europe's collective security (“Treaty of Versailles”). The Treaty of Versailles, with its harsh terms towards secondary nations, eventually led to mass discontent of the affected nations. In combination with the Great Depression, this sparked the collapse of collective security as nations started to break treaties, and gradually became more hostile without the world police nation of Britain supporting world security. The Great Depression predominantly caused collective security to collapse, as Britain was too preoccupied with their own matters, deeming them incapable of upholding the League of Nations declarations and laws. The League of Nations’ idea of collective security was that all nations should condemn any nation that broke international treaties or laws; whether, it is through economic sanctions, diplomatic measures, or military action, as stated in Articles 10, 11 and 16 of the League’s accord. The League's directives were more of a code of honor since nations could choose whether to comply or not, as the League lacked the means to enforce any treaties made. Until the 1930s, the League was partially successful in maintaining peace and enforcing their law and referendums. This was entirely due to the fact that Britain acted as the world's policeman, always turning up to rescue, resolve or put an end to any conflicts which could result in a war. When the Great Depression infected the streets of London, Britain no longer had the economical means or the political will to police the world. Their politicians most likely wondered who would care for ‘Manchurians, Ethiopians, or Czechoslovakians’(“Why Did Collective Security Fail in the 1930s History Essay”) during our current crisis; and therefore only cared to improve their own conditions at home. When in 1931 the Japanese invaded Manchuria, breaking a multitude of international treaties; the British didn’t attempt to police them, but rather sent a League of Nations delegate, Lord Lytton, to evaluate the Mukden Incident, which seemed to be the cause of the conflict. This report achieved nothing, since the Japanese, who were found guilty to having caused the attack, were not going to consider the verdict unless there was someone who was going to enforce it, of course, nobody did. Britain was trade partners with Japan at the time, as such, they decided not to place any sanctions on Japan nor to deploy their military since it would just impair their own economy. Another example is when just two years later, the British again failed to lift a finger when the extremist Nazi party took control of Germany in 1933. Simon Jenkins suggests that Britain was ‘so immersed in the Depression as to be indifferent to Germany’s shifting power.’ This let Hitler build up his power, while the British sat around doing nothing, since their economic problems outweighed the potential breach in the security of Europe. Again, without consequences, more of such incidents were prevalent when Italy, when Mussolini probably noticing how Japan got away with Manchurian, invaded Abyssinia in 1935. Britain and the League of Nations, again condemned Italy for the attack, and threatened to place sanctions. The League also noted that Italy was the aggressor and proposed an armament embargo on Italy for the use of poison gas. Since Britain failed to properly enforce this embargo and didn’t place sanction, it was ignored. Hence, Italy, just like Japan and Germany before her, was able to get away with a “blatant breach of League of Nations rules [which] went unpunished,” as stated by Simon Jenkins himself. These actions together caused a domino like collapse of collective security, as the world creeped closer and closer to war.
To conclude, Britain’s ailing economy, cause by the Great Depression, ultimately caused the collapse of the collective security as they were unable to enforce the League of Nations accords. This was due to the fact that they didn’t have the economical means to sustain military operations, and lacked the economic stability to place sanctions. The effects of the Great Depression, along with the defeating impact the Treaty of Versailles had on its victim nations, provoked aggression and extremism from the nations in question, resulting in the collapse of collective security. As stated by Sun Tzu- “in the midst of chaos there is also opportunity,” and in the chaos of the Great Depression these nations used this opportunity to right their perceived wrongs, and ultimately collapse the collective security.
Bibiolography Jenkins, Simon. SHORT HISTORY of EUROPE : From Pericles to Putin. 2018. S.L., Penguin Books, 2021. Romer, Christina D, and Richard H Pells. “Great Depression - Economic Impact.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 10 Jan. 2019, www.britannica.com/event/Great-Depression/Economic-impact . Accessed 13 Oct. 2022. “Treaty of Versailles.” History, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles-1. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022. “Treaty of Versailles | Definition, Summary, Terms, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 Oct. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Versailles-1919. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022. “Why Did Collective Security Fail in the 1930s History Essay.” Www.ukessays.com, Nov. 2018, www.ukessays.com/essays/history/why-did-collective-security-fail-in-the-1930s-history- essay.php. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
