Edexcel IGCSE History: The League and the UN, 1919–c2011 (4HI1)

Breadth Study B5, “The changing role of international organisations: the League and the UN, 1919–c2011”, is one of eight breadth studies in change in Section B of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) Paper 2. It compares how the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations, were organised, how they tried to keep the peace, what their specialised agencies achieved, and why the great powers so often decided their success or failure. Questions ask about change and continuity over long periods.

Related: Revision notes | Practice questions | Paper 2 overview

Syllabus coverage

The specification (Issue 5, February 2026) names five themes: organisation and decision-making; policing conflict through peacekeeping; the work of the specialised agencies; the organisations’ strengths and weaknesses; and great-power involvement — Britain and France in the League, the USA and USSR in the UN. The (c) essay normally draws on two or more key topics. The five key topics are:

1. The creation and successes of the League, 1919–29 — Wilson, the Covenant, membership, the Assembly, Council, Secretariat, agencies and commissions; the Aaland Islands (1920), Upper Silesia (1921), the Greek–Bulgarian War (1925), and the Refugee and Drugs Committees.
2. The League challenged, 1930–39 — the great powers, the veto, the failure to curb the dictators, Manchuria (1931–33) and Abyssinia (1935–36); the continuing work of the agencies, including the Child Welfare Committee and the slavery commissions.
3. Setting up the UN and its work to 1964 — the Charter and its structural problems, the General Assembly, Security Council, Secretariat and Secretary-General, peacekeeping, the Human Rights Commission and the agencies (ILO, refugee organisations, Mandates and Disarmament Commissions, WHO, FAO, UNESCO, UNICEF); Palestine (1947–49), Korea (1950–53) and the Congo (1960–64).
4. The UN challenged, 1967–89 — the Middle East and Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), Lebanon (1975–85), Namibia (1989), the problem of the Permanent Five and the continuing work of the agencies.
5. The UN at bay, 1990–2011 — identity wars in Somalia (1991–95), Bosnia (1992–95) and the Balkans (1991–99), Mozambique (1990–94), Sudan (2005–11), the Gulf Wars and obstacles to success.

How was the League set up, and what did it achieve in the 1920s?

US President Woodrow Wilson made a League of Nations the last of his Fourteen Points (1918), and its Covenant was written into the peace treaties of 1919. Yet the US Senate refused to ratify the treaty, so the USA never joined. Germany was admitted only in 1926 and the USSR in 1934. The Assembly of all members met once a year; the Council, with permanent members Britain, France, Italy and Japan, met more often and needed unanimous decisions, so any member could in effect veto action. The Secretariat handled administration. Members were to rely on collective security: moral pressure, economic sanctions and, in theory, military force — but the League had no army of its own.

The League settled several disputes between smaller states. The Aaland Islands (1920–21) were awarded to Finland, and Sweden accepted. Upper Silesia (1921) was divided between Germany and Poland after a plebiscite. In the Greek–Bulgarian War (1925) the League ordered a ceasefire and Greece withdrew. Its agencies had lasting success: the Refugee Committee under Fridtjof Nansen helped return hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war and created “Nansen passports” for stateless people; the Drugs Committee attacked the international trade in opium; the International Labour Organization promoted better working conditions.

Why did the League fail in the 1930s?

The great powers dominated the League, and Britain and France put their own interests first. When Japan invaded Manchuria (1931), the League sent the Lytton Commission, which condemned Japan in 1932; Japan simply left the League (1933). When Italy invaded Abyssinia (1935), sanctions were imposed but excluded oil, and Britain did not close the Suez Canal; the secret Hoare–Laval Pact (1935) offering Italy much of Abyssinia destroyed the League’s credibility. The League could not curb Hitler’s rearmament or expansion. Even so, the Child Welfare Committee, the slavery commissions — which pressed states to end slavery and forced labour — and health work continued.

How was the UN different, and what did it do to 1964?

The UN Charter was signed in San Francisco in June 1945. The General Assembly gave every member a vote; the Security Council had five permanent members (the USA, USSR, Britain, France and China), each with a veto — a structural problem that let any one of them block action. The Secretary-General led the Secretariat and became a diplomatic figure in his own right, as with Dag Hammarskjöld. Unlike the League, the UN could raise peacekeeping forces from member states. The Human Rights Commission, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Agencies included the ILO (continuing from the League), refugee bodies, the WHO, FAO, UNESCO and UNICEF; a Trusteeship system replaced the League’s Mandates Commission, and a Disarmament Commission sought arms reduction.

In Palestine (1947–49) the UN proposed partition; after the 1948 war its mediator Ralph Bunche negotiated armistices, and UNRWA cared for Palestinian refugees. In Korea (1950–53) the Security Council, while the USSR was boycotting it, authorised a UN force, led by the USA, which defended South Korea. In the Congo (1960–64) a large UN force tried to restore order and end Katanga’s secession; Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash during the crisis in 1961.

How was the UN challenged in 1967–89?

After the Six-Day War, Resolution 242 (1967) called for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and recognition of every state’s right to live in peace; Resolution 338 (1973) repeated this after the Yom Kippur War. Neither was implemented in full. In Lebanon, UN forces could not stop civil war and invasion. In Namibia, UN supervision of the transition to independence (1989–90) was a success. Throughout the Cold War the Permanent Five used vetoes to protect allies, paralysing the Security Council on many issues, while agencies such as the WHO, which helped eradicate smallpox, worked steadily.

Why was the UN “at bay” in 1990–2011?

The end of the Cold War raised hopes. The Security Council authorised force to expel Iraq from Kuwait in the first Gulf War (1991), but the 2003 invasion of Iraq went ahead without explicit UN authorisation. New identity wars were harder: in Somalia (1992–95) UN forces withdrew without restoring government; in Bosnia UN peacekeepers could not protect “safe areas”, and about 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered at Srebrenica (1995); in Kosovo (1999) NATO acted without Security Council approval. In Mozambique (1992–94) the UN successfully oversaw a ceasefire and elections. In Sudan a UN mission supported the 2005 peace agreement, which led to South Sudan’s independence in 2011. Obstacles included the veto, lack of troops and funds, and unclear mandates.

Frequently asked questions

Was the UN more successful than the League? Generally yes — wider membership, its own peacekeeping forces and stronger agencies — but the veto meant great-power rivalry still limited it.

Why did the League fail over Abyssinia? Britain and France would not risk war or impose oil sanctions, and the Hoare–Laval Pact exposed their priorities.

What is the best theme for a (c) essay? Great-power involvement, which runs from 1919 to 2011.

Official syllabus

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 2, Breadth Study B5 — qualifications.pearson.com.