Introduction
The League of Nations stopped functioning due to its inability to prevent World War II. The United Nations Organization (UN), as the rightful interlocutor of the League of Nations, emerged in order to solve global problems and cooperate effectively (Jackson and O’Malley 14). Thus, it is essential to distinguish between the organizations and to indicate how the UN has incorporated the lessons of the League of Nations.
The Formation and Purpose of the League of Nations
It is essential to note that the League of Nations and the United Nations Organization are among the institutions that have played the most serious role in developing international relations in recent history. The League of Nations was founded in 1920 (Jackson and O’Malley 18). It was formed as a result of the First World War, following the provisions of the Versailles Treaty.
According to many scholars, the idea of the League of Nations was grounded in the assumption that the victorious states in World War I would decide the international agenda, which may have facilitated the establishment of a unipolar society. Moreover, the League of Nations was dissolved in 1946, but by then, there was a new influential actor on the international scene: the United Nations (Jackson and O’Malley 19). This structure was established, in principle, for the same purposes as the League of Nations, but with the results of the completed stages of World War II and the political processes occurring worldwide in the period.
The principles of the new organization had to be completely different from those of the League of Nations. The reason was that the League of Nations’ structure contributed to the formation of a unipolar world, inequality in international relations, and the emergence of potential for new conflicts, which did occur (Jackson and O’Malley 32). Therefore, the world’s leading powers decided to establish a structure that took into account the shortcomings of the League of Nations organization.
Failures and Limitations of the League of Nations
One of the main drawbacks of the League of Nations was that it did not support the major political powers, such as the United States, because the states did not join the organization (Jackson and O’Malley 32). Furthermore, this meant that the League had limited resources and powers to enforce its decisions. In addition, the organization’s decision-making process was based on consensus, which did not allow for effective action against states that violated international order.
The Emergence and Strength of the United Nations
Instead, the United Nations had already been established with support from all major powers, enabling it to implement the adopted resolutions. Furthermore, the UN can use military force to effectively fulfill the primary goal that the League of Nations failed to fulfill, whereas the League of Nations did not have such a mandate (Jackson and O’Malley 41). Besides, the UN has an enhanced decision-making process that allows the Security Council to make binding decisions. In addition, the UN decision-making process was designed to be more efficient, and the Security Council has the right to make binding decisions.
Conclusion
Hence, the main distinction between the League of Nations and the UN is that the former organization was established after the First World War and the latter after the end of hostilities in Europe that took place in the next world conflict. The main objective of establishing both organizations is the same: maintaining peace on the planet. However, there are significant dissimilarities between the League of Nations and the UN regarding the principles of organization of each structure. Moreover, the composition of participants and the decision-making process have been significantly improved by the UN, considering the failures of the League of Nations.
Work Cited
Jackson, Simon, and Alanna O’Malley. The Institution of International Order: From the League of Nations to the United Nations. Routledge, 2018.