it blamed Greece and decided that Greece was to pay reparations. Thus the League had been successful until signing of the Locarno Treaty in . By this treaty, Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy mutually guaranteed peace in Western Europe. Thereafter Germany joined the League and was given a permanent seat in the Council.
After two years the US and Russia began to participate in the non-political activities of the League. Violations One of the major problems confronting the European powers was how to achieve disarmament. In the Council of the League set up a commission to hold a Disarmament Conference to sort out the problem. But the proposed conference materialised only in February .
In this Conference, Germany’s demand of equality of arms with France was rejected. In October Hitler withdrew Germany from the Conference and the League. Japan attacked Manchuria in September , and the League condemned Japan. So Japan also followed the example of Germany and resigned from the League.
In the context of Italy’s attack on Ethiopia, the League applied sanctions. As the sanctions came into effect, Italy resigned from the League in . Thereafter the League was a passive witness to events, taking no part in the crises over the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. The last decisive action it took was in December when Russia was expelled for her attack on Finland.
The Assembly did not meet again and the League of Nations was finally dissolved in . Causes of Failure The League appeared to be an organisation of those who were victorious in the First World War. Since it lacked the military power of its own, it could not enforce its decisions. The founders of this peace organisation underestimated the power of nationalism.
The principle of “collective security’ could not be applied in actual practice. When Italy, Japan and Germany, headed by dictators, refused to be bound by the orders of the League, Britain and France were the only major powers to act decisively. Outbreak of World War I