Among the organizations that have played the most important role in the development of international relations in the period of modern history are the League of Nations and the UN. What is their specificity?
Facts about the League of Nations
The League of Nations is an international structure formed in 1920. It was formed following the results of the First World War, taking into account the provisions of the Versailles Agreement. The total number of member states of the League of Nations reached 58. This organization was established in order to:
- ensure security in the world;
- the formation of an international environment for disarmament;
- creating conditions for the settlement of differences between countries through diplomatic means;
- increasing the standard of living of the world's population.
The headquarters of the League of Nations was located in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to many researchers, the concept of the League of Nations was based on the principle of determining the world order by the victorious powers in the First World War, and this could contribute to the formation of a unipolar world.
The League of Nations formally existed until 1946. Its actual successor was a new international structure - the United Nations Organization, which had already been established by that time. Let's study its specifics.
Facts about the UN
So, the League of Nations was disbanded in 1946, but by that time a new influential actor was already present in the international arena - the United Nations. This structure was established, in principle, for the same purposes as the League of Nations, but taking into account the results of the completed stages of the Second World War, as well as the political processes taking place in the world at that time.
The principles of work of the new organization were to be completely different than in the case of the League of Nations. As we noted above, the structure of the League of Nations contributed to the formation of a unipolar world, as well as, as some researchers believe, inequality in international relations, the emergence of potential for new conflicts - which have occurred. Therefore, the leading powers of the world decided to establish a structure taking into account the shortcomings that were made in organizing the work of the League of Nations.
The leading role in the creation of the UN was played by the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. It is noteworthy that back in 1942, in the midst of World War II, the states signed the United Nations Declaration, which became one of the documents on the basis of which the United Nations itself was later established.
One of the main principles of the UN was the equality of participants. It was assumed that it stimulates the desire of states to work together towards building collective security.
At the same time, it was decided to establish the institution of permanent membership in the Security Council within the UN structure. And the states that became permanent members of the UN Security Council (USA, Great Britain, USSR and China) received in some aspects more powers than ordinary members of the organization. In particular, the right to veto the decisions of the UN Security Council. In turn, in the League of Nations, all states had the corresponding right.
The key constituent document of the UN - the Charter of the organization - was signed in June 1945 by representatives of 50 countries of the world. Subsequently, new states began to join the UN. Today there are very few countries outside the United Nations.
Since the foundation of this organization, the UN headquarters is located in New York.
Comparison
The main difference between the League of Nations and the UN is that the first organization was formed following the results of the First World War, the second - after the end of hostilities in Europe, which took place in the next world conflict.
In general, the main tasks of the establishment of both organizations coincide - it is the maintenance of peace on the planet, disarmament, solution of humanitarian issues. However, there are significant differences between the League of Nations and the UN in terms of the principles of organizing the work of each of the structures.
What is the difference between the League of Nations and the UN, we can visualize with the help of a small table.
Table
| League of Nations | UN |
| What do they have in common? | |
| Both organizations are of a global scale, were established in order to ensure international security | |
| is the difference between them? | |
| Existed from 1920 to 1946 | Was established in 1945, still exists |
| Headquartered in Geneva | Headquartered in New York |
| Established after World War I | Established after the end of hostilities on the European front of World War II |
| According to researchers, the work of the League of Nations contributed to building a unipolar world with the leading role of the victorious powers in the First World War | The work of the UN is organized on the basis of principles of equality of all member states, with the exception of such an aspect as the possibility of vetoing by the permanent members of the UN Security Council on decisions taken by the UN Security Council |
