Lost in Broadcasting: League of Nations, International Broadcasting and Swiss Neutrality
https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2023-3-4-20
Abstract
This article delves into the historical context of cross-border radio broadcasting during the 1930s by the League of Nations and the significant impact of Switzerland’s neutrality as the host country on this international organization. Drawing from the recently digitized and accessible League of Nations archive in Geneva, this narrative unveils a minor conflict of interest that evolved into a notable political crisis, marking an international legal precedent by showcasing the influence wielded by a smaller host nation upon a global organization.
The architects of the League of Nations envisioned Geneva as an ideal hub for the organization’s activities, complete with modern communication technologies for global outreach. However, Switzerland’s neutral stance posed an obstacle to the establishment of the League’s radio broadcasting infrastructure. Recognizing the absence of robust emergency communications, transport links, as well as a dedicated radio station in Geneva during the mid-1920s, the League of Nations sought an agreement with the Radio Swiss station. Consequently, the League of Nations own radio station, Radio-Nations, commenced broadcasting on February 2, 1932, coinciding with the start of the Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Arms.
By May 1938, amidst mounting tensions in Europe, Switzerland chose to assert complete neutrality within the League. Discussions within the Federal Council revolved around the possibility of suspending the agreement made on May 21, 1930, along with the support for Radio Nations. Unexpectedly, on November 3, 1938, the League of Nations’ leadership in Geneva expressed the desire to re-evaluate the 1930 convention. The outbreak of The First World War drastically reshaped the relationship between the League of Nations and Radio-Nations. Switzerland decided against entering into a new agreement with the League of Nations, leading to the closure of Radio-Nations on February 2, 1942.
Maintaining the nation’s neutrality, the Swiss government vigilantly observed the events unfolding during the War. During the peak of Nazi Germany’s advances, Bern adopted stringent measures against the League of Nations, upholding a resolute diplomatic stance. However, the Swiss stance towards the League of Nations and the division of ownership of Radio-Nations gradually shifted from 1943, culminating in the resolution of several financial matters. Ultimately, in 1947, the League of Nations’ liquidation commission transferred the remaining assets of Radio-Nations and its radio waves to the United Nations.
English translation from the Russian text: Khodnev A. S. Lost in Broadcasting: Liga Natsiy, mezhdunarodnoe radiovesh-chanie i shveytsarskiy neytralitet. Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta [MGIMO Review of International Relations]. 16(5). P. 7–27. https://doi.org/10.24833/2071-8160-2023-5-92-7-27
About the Author
A. S. Khodnev
Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Alexander S. Khodnev – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of World History
108/1, ul. Respublikanskaya, Yaroslavl, Russian Federation, 150000
References
1. Callahan M. D. 1999. Mandates and Empire: The League of Nations and Africa, 1914–1931. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press. 297 p.
2. Fleury A. 1983. La Suisse et Radio Nations. The League of Nations in Retrospect Proceedings of the Symposium. Berlin – New York: Walter de Gruyter. P. 196–220. (In French).
3. Goto-Shibata H. 2020. The League of Nations and the East Asian Imperial Order, 1920–1946. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 308 p.
4. Henig R. 2019. The Peace That Never Was: A History of the League of Nations. London: Haus Publications. 224 p.
5. Les Causeries Radiophoniques Du Poste “Radio Nations.” 1935. Bulletin l’Enseignement De Le Societe Des Nations. No. 2. P. 281–282. (In French).
6. Lommers S. 2012. Europe – On Air: Interwar Projects for Radio Broadcasting. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 326 p.
7. Ostrower G. B. 1996. The League of Nations from 1919–1929. Garden City Park. New York: Avery Publishing Group. 176 p.
8. Pedersen S. 2007. Review Essay: Back to the League of Nations. American Historical Review. 112(4). P. 1091–1117.
9. Pedersen S. 2015. The Guardians: The League of Nations and the Crisis of Empire. New York: Oxford University Press. 571 p.
10. Use of Broadcasting in the Cause of Peace. The League of Nations. 1936. Bulletin of the League of Nations Teaching. No. 3. P. 168–177.
11. Walters F. P. 1967. A History of the League of Nations. London: Oxford University Press. 833 p.
12. Yearwood P. J. 2009. Guarantee of Peace: The League of Nations in British Policy 1914–1925. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 410 p.
13. Ilyuhina R. M. 1982. Liga Natsiy, 1919–1934 [League of Nations, 1919–1934]. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russian).
14. Fokin V. I. 2010. Dokumental'nye publikatsii zhurnala “Mezhdunarodnaya intellektual'naya kooperatsiya” kak istochnik po istorii mezhdunarodnykh otnosheniy mezhdu dvumya mirovymi voynami [Documentary Publications of the Journal “International Intellectual Cooperation” as a Source on the History of International Relations between the Two World Wars]. Trudy kafedry istorii novogo i noveyshego vremeni. Saint Petersburg: Sankt-Peterburgskiy gosudarstvennyy universitet. 124–148. (In Russian).
15. Khodnev A. S. 1995. Mezhdunarodnaya organizatsiya v ozhidani iprigovora? Liga Natsiy v mirovoy politike, 1919–1946: Ocherki istorii [An International Organization Awaiting a Verdict? League of Nations in World Politics, 1919–1946: Essays on History]. Yaroslavl: Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University Publishing. 200 p. (In Russian).
16. Khodnev A. S. 2021a. Kolonializm, imperializm i Liga Natsiy [Colonialism, Imperialism and the League of Nations]. Novaya i Noveyshaya istoriya. No. 1. P. 104–116. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640009446-8 (In Russian).
17. Khodnev A. S. 2021b. Liga Natsiy i liberiyskiy krizis 1929-1934 gg. [The League of Nations and the Liberian Crisis of 1929–1934]. Vostok (Oriens). No. 3. P. 158–167. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31857/S086919080010573-7
18. Khormach I. A. 2011. Vozvrashchenie v mirovoe soobshchestvo: bor'ba i sotrudnichestvo Sovetskogo gosudarstva s Ligoy natsiy v 1919–1934 gg. [Return to the World Community: The Struggle and Cooperation of the Soviet State with the League of Nations in 1919–1934]. Moscow: Kuchkovo pole. 606 p. (In Russian).
19. Khormach I. A. 2017. SSSR v Lige natsiy, 1934–1939gg. [USSR in the League of Nations, 1934– 1939]. Moscow – Saint Petersburg: Tsentr gumanitarnykh initsiativ. 430 p. (In Russian).
20. Naumov A. O. 2016. Mezhdunarodnye organizatsii i grazhdanskaya voyna v Ispanii (1936– 1939) [International Organizations and the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)]. Gosudarstvennoe upravlenie. Elektronnyy vestnik. No. 56. P. 40–70. (In Russian).
21. Vasil'eva N. Y. 2017. Liga Natsiy v fokuse sovremennoy otechestvennoy istoriografii [The League of Nations in the Focus of Modern Russian Historiography]. In: A. V. Malgina, ed. 25 let vneshnejpolitike Rossii sb. materialov H Konventa RAMI (Moskva, 8–9 dekabrya 2016 g.). V 5 t. T. 3: Istoriya mezhdunarodnyh otnoshenij: aktual'nye problemy otechestvennoj istoriografii / pod obshch. red. A.V. Malgina; (nauchn. red. A. V.Revyakin). Moscow: MGIMO University Press. P. 7–28. (In Russian).
22. Vasil'eva N. Y. 2020. Obraz Ligi Natsiy v diskurse russkoy porevolyutsionnoy emigratsii nachala 1920-kh godov [The Image of the League of Nations in the Discourse of Russian Post-Revolutionary Emigration of the early 1920s.]. Novaya i noveyshaya istoriya. No. 4. P. 54–66. (In Russian). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640010324-4
Review
For citations:
Khodnev A.S. Lost in Broadcasting: League of Nations, International Broadcasting and Swiss Neutrality. Russian Journal of World Politics and Law of Nations. 2023;2(3):4-20. https://doi.org/10.24833/RJWPLN-2023-3-4-20
Views:
70
Email this article 