The League of Nations: successes and failures
Assess the League's organisation and membership, 1920s peacekeeping cases and humanitarian work, then explain why the Depression and crises in Manchuria and Abyssinia challenged it in the 1930s.
Section Paper 2 · Document Questions
Exam scope and assessment notes
This original lesson maps Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 key question B2 for exams in 2024–2030. 0470 uses grades A*–G; 0977 uses grades 9–1 and has limited zone availability. Cambridge states that the 2029–2030 syllabus has no significant changes affecting teaching and that resources for examinations from 2024 remain suitable. This pathway maps the shared subject content across the published 2024–2030 cycles; always use the exact exam-year syllabus, exam-series prescribed topic and centre route. StudyForA explanations, examples and practice are original learning materials, not Cambridge questions, source documents, mark schemes or grades. Paper 2's prescribed topic changes each exam series: use the exact topic for your year and series from Cambridge. Source-analysis exercises here use clearly labelled, invented practice claims and do not reproduce historical documents. Component 3 is centre-approved coursework based on a depth study and needs authentic learner work, supervision, internal assessment and Cambridge moderation; StudyForA cannot conduct, authenticate or award that coursework mark. Practice feedback is formative and is not an official Cambridge grade.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
How should you approach this question: To what extent was the League of Nations a success?
What you will learn
- Explain the League's structure, aims and membership and how these affected its ability to act.
- Compare the Vilna, Åland Islands, Corfu and Bulgaria cases with its humanitarian work on refugees, health, working conditions and slavery.
- Explain the causes, events and consequences of the Manchurian and Abyssinian crises and judge the League across different tasks and decades.
Design and 1920s record
The League aimed to preserve peace through collective action and also undertook humanitarian work. Its structure and membership shaped its ability to make and enforce decisions; examine who was absent, how members agreed and what power they could use.
The syllabus' 1920s cases are Vilna (1920), the Åland Islands (1920–21), Corfu (1923) and Bulgaria (1925). Compare outcomes rather than calling every case a success or failure. Humanitarian activities included refugees, health, working conditions and slavery.
Depression and the 1930s
The Depression made cooperation and enforcement more difficult. Study the causes, events and consequences of the Manchurian crisis and the Abyssinian crisis, including the limits of collective pressure when major powers prioritised their own interests.
A fair judgement distinguishes peacekeeping, humanitarian action and deterrence. Success in one field does not erase failure in another, and the 1930s should not be used to pretend that all earlier work was ineffective.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2024–2026 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2024–2026 syllabus update
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2027–2028 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 2029–2030 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2024–2026 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2027–2028 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 · 2029–2030 syllabus
- Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 qualification page
- Cambridge IGCSE (9–1) History 0977 qualification page
Pause and explain
Why should a 1920s success and a 1930s failure both be considered?
Worked example
Was the League doomed to fail because of its organisation?
Show the worked solution
- Identify a design weakness such as membership or enforcement.
- Compare it with a case where cooperation achieved a result and with a 1930s crisis.
- Explain how the Depression or member interests changed the League's room to act.
Answer Organisational weaknesses limited the League, particularly when important states were absent or unwilling to enforce decisions. Yet the 1920s cases and humanitarian programmes show that its work was not uniformly unsuccessful. Its ability to act depended on issue, member cooperation and the conditions of the 1930s.
Try a topic test
Choose Easy, Normal or Difficult. Save your answers and open worked review after finishing.
Test this topic →From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Explain one strength and one weakness in the League's 1920s peacekeeping.
Give me a hint
Start with one named syllabus fact, explain its effect and connect it to the question.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: the 1920s local disputes and humanitarian programmes contrast with the 1930s crises.
- Explain the link between that fact and the issue being tested.
- Add a second condition or limitation before reaching a short answer. A model answer follows: Use a named case such as the Åland Islands, Vilna, Corfu or Bulgaria to show what the League achieved or failed to achieve. Then link the outcome to the League's authority, membership and cooperation of interested powers. The cases differed, so one example should not stand for all.
Use a named case such as the Åland Islands, Vilna, Corfu or Bulgaria to show what the League achieved or failed to achieve. Then link the outcome to the League's authority, membership and cooperation of interested powers. The cases differed, so one example should not stand for all.
Look for these in your work
- Uses a relevant named fact
- Explains a cause, consequence or comparison
- Qualifies the conclusion with evidence
How far did the Great Depression explain the League's failures in the 1930s?
Give me a hint
Choose a clear criterion for importance or success; compare evidence before you decide.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: the 1920s local disputes and humanitarian programmes contrast with the 1930s crises.
- Compare the strongest supporting evidence with a counterpoint.
- State which factor matters most, for whom and during which period. A model answer follows: The Depression weakened economic cooperation and made states more focused on domestic priorities, which reduced support for collective action. However, the League also faced limits in its structure and member willingness to enforce decisions. Manchuria and Abyssinia show the interaction of external conditions with political choices.
The Depression weakened economic cooperation and made states more focused on domestic priorities, which reduced support for collective action. However, the League also faced limits in its structure and member willingness to enforce decisions. Manchuria and Abyssinia show the interaction of external conditions with political choices.
Look for these in your work
- Selects evidence from the correct period
- Weighs more than one factor
- Makes a supported judgement
Original StudyForA practice claim (not a historical source): ‘The League did no useful work because it failed to prevent a later war.’ Evaluate the claim.
Give me a hint
Treat the prompt as an interpretation to test. Identify what evidence supports it and what it leaves out.
Compare my reasoning
- Select accurate evidence: the 1920s local disputes and humanitarian programmes contrast with the 1930s crises.
- Check the claim against at least two relevant pieces of contextual knowledge.
- Explain a limitation or alternative explanation; do not treat an invented practice prompt as a real historical source. A model answer follows: Preventing war was a central aim, and the League's response to 1930s crises exposed serious limits. But it also handled some 1920s disputes and humanitarian work on refugees, health, working conditions and slavery. The claim uses one measure only; a balanced judgement states where the League was effective and where it was not.
Preventing war was a central aim, and the League's response to 1930s crises exposed serious limits. But it also handled some 1920s disputes and humanitarian work on refugees, health, working conditions and slavery. The claim uses one measure only; a balanced judgement states where the League was effective and where it was not.
Look for these in your work
- Tests rather than repeats the claim
- Uses contextual knowledge to support or challenge it
- Explains a limitation and reaches a qualified conclusion
Common mistakes
- Ignoring humanitarian work when judging peacekeeping
- Treating four disputes as equally successful or equally important
- Blaming the League alone without analysing member states and the Depression
What can you explain now?
Why should a 1920s success and a 1930s failure both be considered?
Compare with the explanation
Which comparison best tests the League's overall success?
Build an evidence-led answer: describe the relevant context, explain how it supports the claim, test it against another factor or limitation, and reach a qualified judgement.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Without looking, state the key question, name two syllabus facts that bear on it, and explain one limit to your first conclusion.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.