The interwar legal order did not constrain naval strategy in the same way as the post-1945 system. The United States remained outside the League of Nations, while Britain and France could bargain beyond it and decline to enforce its decisions. An international organisation has little coercive power when major states withhold troops, ships, aircraft, money, and political commitment. In that setting the League risked becoming a talking shop, leaving deterrence and fleet strength to carry burdens that collective security could not.
Notable Point · 15:38-17:37
Why collective security lacked naval force
The League of Nations could condemn aggression, but enforcement failed when major powers would not supply the ships, aircraft, troops, money, and lives its decisions required.