International Organizations Historical Antecedents The League
of Nations The United Nations The European Union The Organization
of Islamic Conference The African Union The Associations of
Southeast Asian Nations Non-governmental Organizations
Multinational Corporations
Slide 3
The foundation of international organizations was built by the
1648 Peace of Westphalia the existence of a number of states
functioning as independent political units; International
organizations themselves did not appear until the nineteenth
century; The 1814-1815 Congress of Vienna The Concert of Europe -
agreement to meet at fixed intervals;
Slide 4
The delegates at the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) were
motivated by the desire to benefit Europe as a whole. National
interest was modified for the sake of the general interest of
Europe.
Slide 5
The aim; drawing a plan to alter Europe politically and
territorially so as to prevent the extensive expansion of any one
great power, such as Napoleon. Main goals; creating a balance of
power among the powerful nations of Europe, reinstating
conservative regimes, containing France, and reaching an agreement
to cooperate with each other, supporting the overall purpose of
preventing future widespread conflict.
Slide 6
The final settlement at Vienna demonstrated the first
international group to attempt to deal with European affairs, the
main purpose of the Concert being to preserve the balance of power
and protect conservative governments from being overthrown. The
fact that the Congress of Vienna was conducted with the aim of
preventing universal war, which led to proposals of creating a
balance of power, establishing "better" conservative governments,
containing France and cooperation between the great powers to meet
these ends clearly demonstrates that the welfare of all of Europe
was a relevant concern( a common concern). After much deliberation,
the delegates succeeded in creating a final settlement which
adjusted the selfish goals of the individual nations to acquire
large expanses of territory to support the balance of power.
Slide 7
Economic and social developments growing interdependence and
Industrial Revolution the need for co-ordination between states;
Commerce and communication were increasingly internationalized:
1821 an international commission for the Elbe, 1831 for the Rhine,
1856 for the Danube rivers; 1868 International Telegraphic Bureau
(later named International Telegraphic Union ITU) 1875 The
International Bureau of Weights and Measures
Slide 8
Public and private groups and influential individuals in many
European countries and in the US played significant role in
planning how to maintain peace in the post WWI period US President
Woodrow Wilson expressed commitment to the establishment of a
security organization - a general association of nations as part of
his plan for peace in his famous Fourteen Points presented to the
US Senate in 1918 Leon Bourgeois of France designed an elaborate
system of sanctions General Jan Smuts of South Africa suggested a
system of mandates and institutional design of a new body Lord
Phillimore of Great Britain, initiated works of a group of
influential diplomats and lawyers and drafted a plan for a
League.
Slide 9
The Peace Conference convened in Paris, on January 18, 1919;
The plan for a League of Nations was agreed to become a part of the
peace treaty; The Covenant of the League of Nations was drafted by
a nineteen-member committee composed of two representatives from
each of the great powers and one representative from each of the
smaller participating states President Wilson was appointed
chairman of the Committee.
Slide 10
The first draft of the Covenant was adopted on February 14; The
final draft of the Covenant was unanimously adopted by a plenary
session of the peace conference on April 28, 1919; The Covenant
entered into force on January 10, 1920 after the Treaty of
Versailles being ratified; Sir Eric Drummond was appointed the
first Secretary General of the League of Nations.
Slide 11
The plans for the establishment of the League relied heavily on
the experience of the previous hundred years: the congress and
concert systems, the public international unions and the two Hague
meetings of 1899 1nd 1907; The wartime experience the experience of
Allied cooperation during the war played a significant role.
Slide 12
The League of Nation's task was simple - to ensure that war
never broke out again. After the turmoil caused by the Versailles
Treaty, many looked to the League to bring stability to the
world.Versailles Treaty The only way to avoid a repetition of WWI
was to create an international body whose sole purpose was to
maintain world peace and which would sort out international
disputes as and when they occurred. This would be the task of the
League of Nations.
Slide 13
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after
World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian
Revolution and other events in Russia.World War OneRussian
RevolutionRussia The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles
Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the
Allies.
Slide 14
The League of Nations was created. This did happen even if
Germany was initially excluded from it.League of Nations Land had
to be handed over the Poland, France, Belgium and Denmark. All
overseas colonies were to be handed over to the League. All land
taken from Russia had to be handed back to Russia. Germanys army
had to be reduced to 100,000 men. Germanys navy was reduced to 6
battleships with no submarines. No air force was allowed. Germany
was forbidden to unite with Austria. Germany had to accept the "War
Guilt Clause" and pay reparations.
Slide 15
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pPmZ m-zs-k
Slide 16
Institutional design: The Assembly composed of the
representative of all members of the League; The Council composed
of the representatives of the principal Allied and Associated
Powers, together with representatives of four other members of the
League; The permanent Secretariat; The seat of the League was
Geneva.
Slide 17
Slide 18
Article 8 recommended the reduction of armaments and the
limitation of the private manufacture of armaments; Article 10 the
members of the League undertook to respect and preserve as against
external aggression the territorial integrity and existing
political independence of all members of the League; Article 11 Any
threat of war () is hereby declared a matter of concern to the
whole League and the League shall take any action that may be
deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations.
Slide 19
Articles 12-16 outlined how states in dispute should conduct
their relations (mediation, conciliation, arbitration, the
Permanent Court of International Justice) States resorting to war
in violation of their obligations from the Covenant, were deemed to
have committed an act of war against all other Members of the
league, which hereby undertake immediately to subject it to
severance of all trade of financial relations; Article 18 all new
treaties were to be registered and published by the Secretariat of
the League of Nations.
Slide 20
During the early years of its activities, the League generated
high hopes that it would be able to prevent major conflict; The
activities of the League were motivated by memories of 1914-1918
war; During the 1920s the League provided a useful addition to
international diplomacy - regular annual meetings between member
states representatives allowed discussion on threats to peace and
security(e.g. in conflict between Greece and Bulgaria in 1925,
Turkish- Iraq dispute over Mosul)
Slide 21
The League facilitated/inspired the conclusion of a number of
important international treaties: - The 1928 Briand-Kellog Pact
(General Treaty for the Renunciation of War) - The 1925 Locarno
Treaty (guaranteed French-German-Belgian borders) The League
provided valuable coordination platform for international efforts
(e.g. in the field of protection of refugees); Protection of
minorities was placed on a regular international footing.
Slide 22
The system created in 1919 was not allowed to prevent the
Second World war in 1939; The league became an empty shell
abandoned by countries unwilling to involve themselves or give
teeth to the Leagues Covenant; The failure of the US to join the
League undermined the Leagues claim to universality and its hopes
of taking effective action outside Europe - in Ethiopia, Manchuria
and in Latin America;
Slide 23
Full-scale military aggression by Italy against Ethiopia
(Abisynia) in 1935 brought a number of economic sanctions which
were undermined by British and French concern not to push Italy
into the arms of Germany. In 1936 sanctions against Italy were
abandoned; Japanese attacks on China and her occupation of
Manchuria from 1931 marked the unwillingness of the Leagues members
to act in Asia without US support. In 1938 The League approved the
application of sanctions against Japan by individual members; A
number of Latin American states left the League.
Slide 24
The League of Nations represented both a radical (the first
international organization for promoting peace and cooperation
between member states) and a conservative (based on existing
international order) trend in international relations; The whole
League system can be seen as a crucial link which brought together
the pre-1914 international organization and wartime cooperation
into a more centralized and systematic form on a global scale, thus
providing a stepping stone towards the more enduring United
Nations.
Slide 25
It was the lack of will of the members rather than an available
means that accounted for ineffectiveness of the League; The League
was ill equipped to achieve its goals; An international
organization with real enforcement powers was incompatible with the
principle of absolute national sovereignty.
Slide 26
During the 1930s the European political system which had helped
to create the League of Nations came under attack from revisionist
states Germany, Japan, Italy.
Slide 27
The League of Nations represented both a radical (the first
international organization for promoting peace and cooperation
between member states) and a conservative (based on existing
international order) trend in international relations; The whole
League system can be seen as a crucial link which brought together
the pre-1914 international organization and wartime cooperation
into a more centralized and systematic form on a global scale, thus
providing a stepping stone towards the more enduring United
Nations.
Slide 28
It was the lack of will of the members rather than an available
means that accounted for ineffectiveness of the League; The League
was ill equipped to achieve its goals; An international
organization with real enforcement powers was incompatible with the
principle of absolute national sovereignty.