Title: The Baltic states and the League of Nations: A study of opportunities and limitations
Abstract:For small states the League of Nations provided an unprecedented opportunity to participate in international politics. It was not only a matter of annual access to a world forum, but also of access to...For small states the League of Nations provided an unprecedented opportunity to participate in international politics. It was not only a matter of annual access to a world forum, but also of access to the political process of international organizations and a unique scope for independent initiative. purpose of this study is to explore the approach pursued by the Baltic states to certain aspects of League politics. Great power dominance of the League is undenyable, but two underlying principles of the League Covenant served to enhance the role of small states. First, to the extent that the League functioned on the basis of consensus and collective action, the formal equality of small states became politically significant-their cooperation, or at least passivity, was solicited in a more or less regularized pattern of consultations.1 Referring to the Covenant, Latvia's representative in Geneva declared: The debate regarding great and small powers is overthe League of Nations has made the equality of states an international dogma.2 Secondly, the League functioned as a third party in relation to various political, economic and social issues. On the basis of this principle, small states could pursue their interests in the organization as a matter of right while avoiding the vulnerabilities of unilateral diplomatic action. As the Irish delegate to the League^-and subsequently its last Secretary GeneralSean Lester put it: The League of Nations has presented ... an opportunity for the small states to take part in the settlement of world affairs in which, in other circumstances, their intervention would have been regarded as an impertinent interference with the affairs of their betters.3 Similarly, Sweden's Foreign Minister Rickard Sandler observed that without the League, Sweden would have to return to her pre-war neutrality which in practice meant withdrawal from international politics.4Read More
Publication Year: 1979
Publication Date: 1979-06-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 4
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