ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the legacies of the "second" and "third" League of Nations. It offers a brief illustration of how the League of Nations helped construct our view of the modern world, drawing borders, establishing a "mandates system" over former colonies of the German and Ottoman empires, and foreshadowing the process of decolonization in ways that continue to influence modern politics. The chapter examines the considerable influence that the League had on the evolution of social and economic governance, providing a tour d'horizon of its reach in realms of development, economics and finance, agriculture, health, and human rights. For example, against the economic crisis, the League played an unheralded role in laying the groundwork for what would become the pillars of contemporary global cooperation, including the IMF, WHO, and ILO. In many respects, the League anticipated globalization by adding momentum to more functional transnational cooperation in ways that would reverberate significantly in the developing world, for better and for worse.
