The process of institutionalizing multilateralism.



 Multilateralism goes global: The League of Nations.

The League of Nations was established following the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Indeed, the Covenant of the League of Nations is an integral part of the Versailles Treaty. Its foundation marked a turning point in the process of institutionalizing multilateralism. The League was the first global international organization created to maintain peace and security and promote cooperation between countries. 

THE COVENANT: A NEW INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE.

If you are a member of a sports club, there are some rules you must follow and there is some information about how the sports club works. In the same way, the Covenant was a document for the members of the League. It detailed what members can and cannot do, and outlined the way the organization works. There was a code of conduct, a way to behave: there must be unity among members, respect, equal rights, group decision-making, transparency, and peaceful resolution of disagreements. The creation of the League provided an opportunity for representatives of member states to meet regularly and discuss all major international issues on an equal footing. For the first time, the debates were public and the press were allowed to attend diplomatic meetings. Importantly, a permanent secretariat was created, which serviced the intergovernmental process of multilateral diplomacy. 

A FIRST ATTEMPT AT GLOBAL COOPERATION.

 The League of Nations was active in many areas. It aided in settling international disputes, provided financial assistance to states, fought epidemics, and promoted the codification of international law. It coordinated international action to fight slavery and human trafficking. It ensured international cooperation in the fields of transit and communications. It facilitated intellectual cooperation and supported refugees. Governments, and private associations (nowadays referred to as NGOs) were very active within the League. The League officially had up to 60 member states, which represented most of the existing states at the time. However, the Geneva-based organization never succeeded in establishing a global multilateral system, largely because of the absence of the United States, which never joined the League. In addition, a large part of the world was under colonial rule. Despite this, during the 1920s and 1930s many multilateral treaties were prepared and signed under the auspices of the League of Nations, which were also open to non-member states. The web of international treaties laid the foundation on which the modern multilateral system is based today. 

THE LEAGUE’S GREAT EXPERIMENT. The League was unable to prevent the Second World War. After the conflict, Winston Churchill said “The League did not fail because of its principles or conceptions. It failed because those principles were deserted by those states which brought it into being”. The League of Nations officially dissolved in 1946. It has been called the “Great experiment” and it demonstrated both the potential of multilateral cooperation and the consequences of the lack ofcooperation. Following this, the new international system was formed: The United Nations. It was built on a stronger foundation of multilateralism.

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