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League of Nations

"The League did not fail because of its principles or conceptions. It failed because those principles were deserted by those states which brought it into being." (Winston Churchill)

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The covenant of the League of Nations was part of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the organisation was the first to be dedicated to preventing wars and solving disputes peacefully. However, the US Congress refused to ratify the US entry into the League of Nations, weakening the institution. The League of Nations was ultimately disbanded and replaced by the United Nations in 1946.


Additional Information

Logo of the League of Nations: No Changes Were Made. Source / Author: Martin Grandjean. Strictly based on a flag kept by the League of Nations Archives (United Nations Geneva). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_League_of_Nations_(1939).svg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en Picture of League of Nations Headquarter: No Changes Were Made. Source / Author: Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-00678 / CC-BY-SA 3.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00678,_Genf.-_Haus_des_V%C3%B6lkerbundrates.jpg License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en Picture of Woodrow Wilson: {{PD-US-expired}} No Changes Were Made. Source / Author: Harris & Ewing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:President_Woodrow_Wilson_by_Harris_%26_Ewing,_1914-crop_(2).jpg

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Pablo Mathis Pablo Mathis obtained a BSc in Security Studies from Leiden University and an MA in War Studies from King's College London. He is currently a MSc(Res) International Relations candidate at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His main areas of interest are international relations theories and small states.

Cite this brief
Mathis, P. (2023). League of Nations. EPIS Insight · Peacekeeping & Conflict Prevention.
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