Historical Round – Global Parliament – VIVUM 15This house would discourage the use of the mandate system run by the British and French following the Great War

Welcome to VIVUM 15 Parliamentary Debate’s bonus Historical Round… not what you were expecting? It is often been told that we must learn lessons from history so that we do not repeat the same mistake and the aim of this round is to simulate an experience or debate that happened in the past to get a better understanding of the arguments then and how they can be applied to situations in the present.

So we transport you to the year 1921 when the infamous mandate system is in its infancy but already the cracks in the wall are beginning to show

Among the representatives of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, there were two different lines of thought. The British and French pursued a colonial agenda and were looking for territorial expansion as a compensation for the First World War. Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States however, had a different vision and advocated the policy of self-determination as outlined in his famous 14 points speech as opposed to forced annexation. Self-determination was the policy that gave many independent territories hope as they would have the right to run their own government. As a way to bridge the gap, the mandate system was invented and established.

The mandate system was run under the League of Nations in which certain territories were transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I and thus given a special legal status. The mandate system was established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.

Instead of colonizing the territories that according to the peacemakers “were not able to stand on their own”, the advanced countries would administer their affairs until they were ready to manage on their own. In each case, one mandate would be divided into 3 separate categories and one advanced country would be assigned the role of Mandatory Power while their work and progress would be tracked by the Permanent Mandates Commission – an organ of the League of Nations. The countries that had Mandatory Power would agree, in principle, to guide mandates toward independence and would encourage the development of political, economic and social institutions in these regions to the point at which self-government could be achieved following which the Mandatory Power would withdraw.

The mandate system applied the principle of self-determination but at the same time legitimized British and French control of these regions and territories. According to F.S. Northedge a specialist in the League of Nations, “it was a device to sole a dilemma. Namely, how the Allied powers were allowed to keep their gains without affronting people especially in the United States who wanted to break free from the old-fashioned imperialism.” However, according to Mehran Kamrava, “It was a polite disguise for what a couple of decades ago had unabashedly been called colonialism.”

According to many, the Mandate system seemed a suitable compromise between colonialism and independence but its application to the case of the ex-Ottoman Arab territories was not easily resolved. This was mainly due to the fact that the principle of guardianship was in conflict with Arab nationalism that had taken over the Arab world during and after the war. According to the Arabs, they had been asked to fight alongside the Allies against the Ottoman Empire with the promise of independence during the war only to be betrayed by the new Mandate system.

Cases of the Mandate System in use

The Middle East – The most famous incidents which highlight the mandate system was the Middle East. During World War One, there were many promises made to ex-Ottoman territories for independence that were encapsulated in two famous incidents: the Hussein-McMahon correspondence and the Sykes-Picot agreement.

In December 1 1918, the British Prime Minister, Lloyd George and the French Prime Minister Clemenceau met in London to revise this agreement. They redrew boundaries according to their interests and each negotiated their share of territory in total disregard to prior arrangements. The British and French took territories that were supposed to be run internationally and ran them themselves most notably Palestine. The British administered Palestine out of their own personal interest as it offered them access to vital ports and the Suez Canal.

Class C Mandates – Class C Mandates were mandates that were not developed and not ready for independence and were mainly South-West African German Colonies and Islands in the Pacific. These territories held little value for the British and French but were nonetheless administered effectively and many territories made great progress under the system highlighting the potential value of the mandate system.