The League of Nations failed to live up to expectations.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'The Assembly contained representatives of all members.'
2. [1-4] 'The Assembly met in Geneva.'
3. [1-4] 'The Assembly met once a year.'
4. [1-4] 'The Assembly's job was to set the budget admit new members and elect members of the Council.'
5. [1-4] 'The Assembly was the League's Parliament.'
6. [1-4] 'The Assembly could make recommendations to the Council.'
7. [1-4] 'Assembly decisions had to be unanimous.'
8. [1-4] 'The Council consisted of permanent members and temporary members who were elected by the Assembly for three years.'
9. [1-4] 'The Council met three to five times a year.'
10. [1-4] 'The Council's job was to settle international disputes.'
11. [1-4] 'The Council met during emergencies/crises.'
12. [1-4] 'Council members had a veto.'
13. [1-4] 'The Council could issue sanctions.'
14. [4-5] e.g. 'The League's failure was important because it showed the League's weakness when it came up against major powers such as Italy. When an Italian general was murdered, Mussolini sent forces to bombard and occupy Corfu. Greece appealed to the League of Nations, but Mussolini refused to let the League have any say on the matter and demanded it go to the Conference of Ambassadors. This is what happened and Italy got its demands. This was important because it showed that powerful countries could just ignore the League of Nations. This would be a lesson for other powerful countries in the future.'
15. [2-3] e.g. 'Its failure was important because this was its first real test.'
16. [2-3] 'Its failure was important because it showed the League was weak.'
17. [2-3] 'This was important because it showed that powerful countries could ignore the League.'
18. [2-3] 'It was a lesson for powerful countries that if they ignored the League, they could get away with it.'
19. [2-3] 'It was important because it showed how Fascist countries would act in their foreign policies.'
20. [2-3] 'It showed GB and France were more interested in their own interests.'
21. [4-6] e.g. 'I agree with this. The fact it did not have an army was a major weakness of the League. This can be seen when Italy invaded Abyssinia. The League decided against Italy and voted for economic sanctions. However, without an army to back up such a threat, the League could do nothing when Mussolini simply ignored the sanctions. If the League had had an army, Mussolini might have been persuaded to back down. The truth was that without an army, the League simply could not stand up to major powers.'
22. [4-6] OR e.g. 'I disagree with this. The main reason why the League failed in the 1930s was the slow and uncertain way it acted when there was a crisis. This can be seen when Japan invaded Manchuria. It took the League over a year to decide what to do and by that time it was too late - Japan was in control of Manchuria and there was nothing the League could do. Having an army would have made no difference. Manchuria was so far away that the problems of getting an army out there would also have been great. The League needed to be determined to stand up to aggression. This was not the case. If the League had had an army, it probably wouldn't have been able to agree to use it.'
23. [2-3] e.g. 'The League failed because the USA was not a member.'
24. [2-3] 'The League failed because Britain and France used it to pursue their own interests.'
25. [2-3] 'It failed because several major powers such as Germany and the USSR were not members for long periods of time.'
26. [2-3] 'The League failed because its decision-making was so slow.'
27. [2-3] 'The lack of an army meant that the League could not enforce its decisions.'
28. [2-3] 'Countries were unwilling to provide soldiers for the army.'
29. [2-3] 'It failed because of the structure of the League such as requiring unanimous decisions.'
30. [2-3] 'It could not enforce disarmament.'
31. [2-3] 'It failed because of the effects of the Depression.'