Mussolini ans the League of Nations
How important was Mussolini in the downfall of the League of Nations?
Benito Mussolini was an extremely influential figure in Europe in the 1930s. Many argue that Mussolini was responsible for the downfall and eventual failure of the League of Nations. Mussolini wanted to regain the Roman Empire to it's former glory, and initiated his nationalistic plan with the invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. Both Italy and Abyssinia were members of the League, meaning that it fell to them to deal with this, and could possibly help the League regain respect and credibility which it had recently lost. Instead, the situation in Abyssinia seemed to spark the end of the League. It took a great deal of time for the League to respond, and once it did, they couldn't do anything practical, and only voiced their disapproval, a message which Mussolini chose to ignore. Almost immediately after this incident, the League was deemed a failure - suggesting the end of the League was down to the Abyssinian crisis. As historian James Joll put it, "After seeing what happened… in Abyssinia, most people drew conclusions that it was no longer much use placing their hopes in the League…". He expressed a view that was shared globally at the time, and reinforces the idea that the collapse of the League was due to an overwhelming doubt that the League has any importance. As this opinion was shared a great deal after the incident - in 1976 - we can assume that he has no emotional connections, and no ulterior motives (for instance to excuse himself of any blame).
If the Abyssinian crisis is accepted that this caused the failure of the League, what caused Abyssinia to become such an ordeal? It is argued that the failure in Abyssinia was down to the League itself, and it's response to the situation. The report that explained the conclusions drawn from the events was not published until a year after the invasion, which showed the League as weak and indecisive. Once it was established that Mussolini was
Benito Mussolini was an extremely influential figure in Europe in the 1930s. Many argue that Mussolini was responsible for the downfall and eventual failure of the League of Nations. Mussolini wanted to regain the Roman Empire to it's former glory, and initiated his nationalistic plan with the invasion of Abyssinia in 1935. Both Italy and Abyssinia were members of the League, meaning that it fell to them to deal with this, and could possibly help the League regain respect and credibility which it had recently lost. Instead, the situation in Abyssinia seemed to spark the end of the League. It took a great deal of time for the League to respond, and once it did, they couldn't do anything practical, and only voiced their disapproval, a message which Mussolini chose to ignore. Almost immediately after this incident, the League was deemed a failure - suggesting the end of the League was down to the Abyssinian crisis. As historian James Joll put it, "After seeing what happened… in Abyssinia, most people drew conclusions that it was no longer much use placing their hopes in the League…". He expressed a view that was shared globally at the time, and reinforces the idea that the collapse of the League was due to an overwhelming doubt that the League has any importance. As this opinion was shared a great deal after the incident - in 1976 - we can assume that he has no emotional connections, and no ulterior motives (for instance to excuse himself of any blame).
If the Abyssinian crisis is accepted that this caused the failure of the League, what caused Abyssinia to become such an ordeal? It is argued that the failure in Abyssinia was down to the League itself, and it's response to the situation. The report that explained the conclusions drawn from the events was not published until a year after the invasion, which showed the League as weak and indecisive. Once it was established that Mussolini was