Mandate System Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The mandate system was an innovative international procedure to assist the transition toward independence of former colonies and dependencies after World War I (1914–1918). The mandate system was established by the founding treaty of the League of Nations (1919) and represented a compromise between the new liberal principles of international politics, promoted mainly by American president Woodrow Wilson, and the assertions of influence by the countries that emerged victor ious from the war. The Covenant of the League of Nations acknowledged the right of the people of these territories to self-government but made this conditional on their capacity to support statehood and sovereignty.

Under the mandate procedures, Germany and the Ottoman Empire lost all of their territorial possessions in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Mandates were divided into three categories according to the stage of development of the people, the geographical situation of the territory, its economic conditions, and other similar circumstances (League of Nations Covenant, Article 22, paragraph 3). The territories previously under the authority of the Ottoman Empire were included in Mandate A, as they had homogeneous and politically organized populations, and became de facto sovereign. Under Mandate A, national elites had the authority to self-organize and the right to choose their own mandate country, which was required to assist the territory in gaining independence. Most of the former German possessions in Africa were included in Mandate B, as they were considered to be less developed. The territories with sparse and small populations were included in Mandate C and were considered part of the territory of the mandate country.

Great Britain became the mandate country for the Mandate A territories Iraq and Palestine, including Transjordan (1992), and the Mandate B territories British Cameroon, Tanganyika, and a part of Togoland. France became the mandate country for the Mandate A territory Syria (including Lebanon) and the Mandate B territories French Cameroon and part of Togoland. Belgium became the mandate country for the Mandate B territory Rwanda-Urundi. Great Britain together with Australia and New Zealand became the mandate country for the Mandate C territories of Nauru, Australia for New Guinea, Japan for several South Pacific island groups (Carolinas, Marianas, Marshall Islands, and Palau), New Zealand for Samoa, and South Africa for South-West Africa.

The mandate countries had to be involved directly in the mandated territories’ administration but only to assure the “freedom of conscience and religion, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals” (League of Nations Covenant, Article 22, paragraph 5). The arrangements were coordinated through the league’s specialized body, the Permanent Mandates Commission. The commission had the right to set the policies for each mandated territory if they were not specified in the treaties, and each country taking responsibility for a mandated territory had to submit an annual report to the commission. The mandate system, formally terminated in 1945 upon dissolution of the League of Nations, was replaced by the trusteeship system organized under the newly formed United Nations. The majority of mandate territories included in categories B and C, with the exception of South-West Africa, retained their semi-independent status under the new system. The Mandate A territories gained their independence: Iraq (1932), Lebanon (1943), Syria (1944), Transjordan (1946), and Israel (1948).

The significance and impact of the mandate system remain disputed. It was both a continuation of imperial/colonial practices in international politics and a recognition of the right of self-determination and the growing illegitimacy of colonial rule. Most of the territories included in the mandate system eventually became independent, but it is not clear to what extent the mandate system contributed to their overall stability and development.

Bibliography:

Callahan, Michael D. Mandates and Empire: The League of Nations and Africa, 1914–1931. Brighton, U.K.: Sussex Academic Press, 1999.
A Sacred Trust: The League of Nations in Africa, 1929–1945. Brighton, U.K.: Sussex Academic Press, 2004.
Wright, Quincy. Mandates under the League of Nations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1930.

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