1. L
1.1. Lack of armed forces - the League had no troops of its own.
1.1.1. In Abyssinia, British and French force could have acted on behalf of the League, but the British and French governments refused.
1.1.2. In Manchuria, the League could not send troops there as it was impossible to reach.
1.2. Provenance: American Cartoon, 1931
2. U
2.1. Unfair treaty - the League's job was to enforce treaties that some members thought were unfair.
2.1.1. The league was supposed to enforce the terms in the Treaty of Versailles which Germany thought was harsh and unfair. Soon the public started to view the Treaty of Versailles the same way and opposed the league's actions.
2.2. Provenance: Cartoon from British newspaper, 1919
3. R
3.1. Reaching decisions too slowly - the League took ages to act
3.1.1. League officials sailed to Manchuria to assess the situation. The full report was submitted one year later and only then Japan faced moral condemnation.
3.1.2. For Abyssinia, the oil sanction was implemented in 1936 when the invasion was 1935. This sanction was passed too late as Mussolini had already taken large parts of Abysinnia.
3.2. Provenance: Quote from British elder statesman, 1932
4. E
4.1. Economic depression led to the rise of the dictators - and made League members less willing to impose sanctions for fear of harming their own trade.
4.1.1. In Manchuria, economic depression led to Japan invading it and taking resources while selling their goods there because the USA had put up tariffs against Japanese goods due to trade difficulties from the Wall Street Crash.
4.1.2. In Abyssinia, economic depression led to countries like France to not support sanctions against Italy as they're desperate to gain their support. Countries also prioritised their economies because of the depression so they refrained from acting against powerful countries such as Italy.
4.2. Provenance: Cartoon from London Evening Standard, 1936
5. F
5.1. French and British self-interest - they looked after their own interests rather than the League's.
5.1.1. In Manchuria, Britain didn't act against the Manchurian Crisis nor did it support any economic sanctions against Japan. The same goes for France. Both countries preferred to maintain a good relationship with Japan.
5.1.2. In Abyssinia, France and Britain owned the Suez Canal. This was Mussolini's main supply route to Abyssinia and closing it would've helped the Abyssinian Crisis but they didn't because they were afraid it would lead to a war with Italy.
5.2. Provenance: Cartoon from Punch, 1935.
6. A
6.1. Absent powers - key countries, particularly the USA, were not in the League.
6.1.1. In Manchuria, the USA would have the resources to remove the Japanese from Manchuria by force. But they weren't part of the league so the league couldn't apply it to them.
6.1.2. In Abyssinia, the league made an oil sanction but as it didn't apply to the USA so they continued exporting oil. Although big oil companies stopped exporting, the smaller companies increased their exports as prices for oil increased in Italy.
6.2. Provenance: British cartoon from Punch, March 1919.
7. I
7.1. Ineffective sanctions - sanctions either weren't used or didn't work.
7.1.1. In Abyssinia, the no oil sanction was ineffective against Italy as Mussolini had already taken large parts of Abyssinia. This had been because the league delayed the decision for two months, fearing USA wouldn't support the sanctions.
7.1.2. In Manchuria, the league discussed economic sanctions but without USA they would be meaningless. They also discussed banning arms sales but the league members weren't unanimous about that because they were afraid Japan would retaliate.