International Responses and Source Analysis Skills for Paper 1

The interwar international order

The move to global war cannot be understood without examining how the international community tried, and failed, to keep the peace. The two case studies share a common thread: aggressor states repeatedly tested the will of the powers responsible for upholding the post-1919 order, and those powers repeatedly failed to respond effectively. This lesson reviews the main international responses and then focuses on the source-analysis skills essential for success in Paper 1.

The League of Nations and collective security

The League of Nations was founded in 1920 to preserve peace through collective security: the principle that aggression against one member was aggression against all, to be met by collective diplomatic, economic, or military pressure. In practice t