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AQASpec 1B/BFoundation & Higher~35 min

The League of Nations and International Peace

History · Topic revision workspace

Topic progress0%

Read the notes, score 80% and know 75% of the cards.

Topic overview

What you need to know

The League of Nations aimed to preserve peace through collective security, arbitration and sanctions, but its authority depended on member cooperation.

Exam tip

For each crisis, judge the League against what it could realistically do and show how major-power self-interest shaped the outcome.

Revision notes

Core ideas

Secure these ideas first. Say each definition in your own words, then connect it to the topic overview.

  • Collective security: The principle that states act together against an aggressor to protect every member.
  • Assembly: The League body containing all member states, where decisions generally required unanimity.
  • Council: The smaller League body that met more often to address disputes and crises.

Revision notes

Apply it in the exam

The exam will rarely ask for an isolated definition. Practise selecting the right idea and using it as part of a complete explanation or method.

  • Economic sanctions: Trade and financial restrictions intended to pressure an aggressor without military force.
  • Manchurian Crisis: The 1931–33 crisis in which Japan occupied Manchuria and left the League after criticism.
  • Abyssinian Crisis: The 1935–36 crisis in which Italy conquered Abyssinia despite incomplete League sanctions.

Core knowledge

Key facts for The League of Nations and International Peace

1

Collective security

The principle that states act together against an aggressor to protect every member.

2

Assembly

The League body containing all member states, where decisions generally required unanimity.

3

Council

The smaller League body that met more often to address disputes and crises.

4

Economic sanctions

Trade and financial restrictions intended to pressure an aggressor without military force.

5

Manchurian Crisis

The 1931–33 crisis in which Japan occupied Manchuria and left the League after criticism.

6

Abyssinian Crisis

The 1935–36 crisis in which Italy conquered Abyssinia despite incomplete League sanctions.

Active recall

Close the notes and answer these

  1. 1.Without looking, explain collective security and give one example or consequence.
  2. 2.Without looking, explain assembly and give one example or consequence.
  3. 3.Without looking, explain council and give one example or consequence.
  4. 4.Without looking, explain economic sanctions and give one example or consequence.

Content reviewed 23 July 2026 against the current linked specification.

Finished learning?

Mark the notes complete, then test what you can recall.

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