The Rise and Fall of Collective Security

Abstract

The concept of collective security which attracted support during and after the First World War was therefore to some extent a reaction against the failure of the balance of power. The old Concert of Europe which the European powers had developed as a machinery for attempting to contain international conflict after 1815 had simply failed in 1914. Some argued that Germany had been at fault by acting precipitately in support of the Austro— Hungarian action against Serbia, following upon the assassination of the heir to the Habsburg throne by a Serbian nationalist in the summer of 1914. The powers simply were not given enough time to try to settle the crisis by negotiation, and the opposing alliances went into action almost automatically. British politicians in particular favoured the idea that states should collectively undertake to abstain from war for a definite period to provide time for attempts to resolve a crisis by means of peaceful procedures. It was generally felt that this could only be achieved by creating a new balance of power which would have to include the United States.