1920s vs 1930s
• 1920s = prosperity & democracy.
• 1930s = Great DEPRESSION → diplomacy changed: coop → competition, morality → might.
• Nations sought wealth/territory at others’ expense.
• FASCIST govts (Germany, Italy) = survival of strongest.
• → League had success in 1920s but failed in 1930s.
Failure in Manchuria, 1932-33
The Dispute
• 1930s = global econ depression → Japan built empire to solve crisis.
• 1932: Japan invaded Manchuria, expelled Chinese, set up puppet state (MANCHUKUO).
• China asked League for help.
What the League Did
• Sent investigation team (LYTTON Commission) → took 1 year.
• Feb 1933: League ordered Japan to LEAVE Manchuria.
The Outcome
• Japan refused & left League.
• League failed to impose SANCTIONS (∵ TRADING links w. Japan).
• Britain & France unwilling to go to war.
• Japan kept Manchuria → League failed.
The Consequences
• League HUMILIATED vs determined aggressor.
• NINE-POWER Treaty (1920)/ Washington Naval Treaty (1922)/ Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) broken.
• Japan’s exit from League = end of diplomatic solutions in the Far East.
• Japan emboldened → occupied JEHOL (1934) → invaded China (1937) → set about building ‘CO-PROSPERITY Sphere’ → Pearl Harbor & WWII.
• ENCOURAGED Mussolini (Abyssinia, 1935) & Hitler (Rhineland, 1936).
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