What you’ll learn
Course Topics
Haile Selassie I defined collective security as:
An attack against one peaceful nation must be treated as an attack against all.
This principle came directly from Ethiopia’s experience during the Italian invasion of 1935. When the League of Nations failed to act decisively, Ethiopia fell—not because it was weak, but because collective security was betrayed.
From this, he concluded:
- Peace cannot survive if aggression is tolerated anywhere
- Neutrality in the face of injustice equals complicity
- International law without enforcement is meaningless
