Firstly, the weak constitution (structure) of the League made it difficult for a consensus to be reached between the League members. The problem was that a unanimous decision had to be taken by the nine members of the League Council for a plan to take action. Some decisions even required the unanimous consent of the entire Assembly (every member of the League). These regulations (approvals) embedded in the structure of the League created extensive time lags between the recognition of the problem, reaching a consensus (administrative), and putting that consensus into operation. Adding to this issue, the League only met once a year, prolonging the time to take action in solving a problem that occurred long before or long after a meeting. Moreover, since the countries in the Council and/or Assembly were at times neutral when reaching a verdict on an issue, it took time for a decision to be made as indecisiveness and indecision took over. This paralyzed the League’s effect on the issue at hand as swift action could not be taken. Thus, problems that were brought to the League’s attention progressively worsened due to the faulty organization and structure, creating time lags in taking action.
Economic problems also spurned from the destruction caused by World War One, which further became problems of the League of Nations. Europe was in the process of rebuilding after it had devoted itself to “total war” for four years. Nation’s resources had been depleted and every country was only worried about themselves. The problem was that the League could only function if its members were willing to fund the organization. Funding could come in the form of money or military support, but neither of these resources was in excess for any country. Old superpowers like Britain and France were looking to rebuild their nations into their pre-war stature, while new nations, which had been created by the various treaties following the war, were looking to start building a nation. No one was willing to aid the League, and the notion of “helping oneself before helping others” was into heavy consideration by members of the League. Solving world issues was a secondary issue, thus loosening the League’s grasp on solving world issues. As a result, the League was badly funded and under-resourced, making it difficult for them to enforce their decisions around the world.
Lastly, a problem concerning both the structure of the League and economic problems surrounding it was that the League was not universal. Since the League did not include major powers like the United States of America, Russia, or Germany, it did not reach its potential level of influence around the world. Especially with the USA, the most powerful nation after World War One, refusing to join, the League did not have universal control. Without America by their side, the League’s reputation was not as high, and thus could not enforce their decisions on everyone. The exclusion of Russia and Germany refuted the idea of world peace, which the League was trying to promote, as they were purposely excluded, creating a further division between the victors and the losers of World War One - Russia did not lose the war, but were treated as outcasts by the Allies due to their new communist government. Economically speaking, the United States was the only major power that was relatively unharmed coming out of World War One. If America was a part of the League of Nations, they could have potentially given the organization the necessary financial and military aid needed to enforce their will. Although, as this did not happen, the League of Nations suffered economically due to its structure and organization, and ultimately failed in securing world peace.
In conclusion, due to the faulty structure of the League of Nations, and the economic downturn that plagued Europe following the First World War, the League failed in preventing another catastrophic war (World War Two) and promoting world peace. As these issues came into play on a regular basis, the League of Nations’ international influence and power lessened, setting itself up for an undoubted failure. The appealing concept of world peace was hounded by the League’s indecision, nations’ greed for power before world peace, and the exclusion of major powers. Thus, the League of Nations could not overcome its shortcomings, and ultimately failed in accomplishing its goals.