La fine della democratizzazione delle relazioni internazionali. La Società delle Nazioni nella crisi etiopica

The League of Nations is often described as inadequate to the objectives for which it was founded due to its failure in the Ethiopian crisis. The Abyssinian imbroglio, how- ever, led to the small and medium powers’ strong commitment to applying the League’s principles, with an immense faith in the possibility of preventing aggression from be- coming a method to resolve international disputes. Those principles and commitment also inspired the imposition of the League’s sanctions for the first time. Nevertheless, for many countries this was just an illusion: through the crisis both Great Britain and France only defended their imperial interests, subordinating to them the League’s val- ues embodied by the Covenant. That reality became visible with the Hoare-Laval plan, that suddenly closed all hopes, and in the following months the organization saw the progressive departure of all members until its final collapse. Therefore, the League of Nations fell victim of great powers during the Ethiopian crisis, and it was them who put an end to the first attempt to democratize international relations.