Militarism, Nationalism, and the System of Alliances: The Causes of World War One

World War I, or “The Great War”, began in 1914 and ended in 1918. The devastation witnessed in those four years alone, caused nearly 9 million people to die and millions more crippled, grief stricken, maimed, or psychologically scarred. Considered by some to be the first man-made catastrophe of the twentieth century, many scholars still debate over the main underlying causes of World War I. Many things contributed to the war, changing the lives of many people, many of them still evident today. Beginning only as a European conflict, gradually it developed into a world war.

There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins. This answer will explain the causes focusing on how they contributed to World War One and what the important links are

World War one, also known as the “great war” was directly caused by the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. What you may not know is that the root causes to World War one were Nationalism, Militarism, and Alliances. Not only do they have a huge role in starting the war, but also making sure the war was finished.

The are four “main reason why Europe was unsteady. One is Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. Militarism is growing your nation's army, to have a fighting chance. Alliances are having an agreement with another country and helping one if need help. Imperialism is a country taking over someone else's land and making them go by their government. Nationalism is a strong love for your country. These are the main reasons but will this incident be the last straw for Europe.The archduke( Franz Ferdinand) and his wife of Austria-Hungary were visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia on June 28th, 1914. The black hand was a terrorist group that wanted Bosnia to belong to Serbia. First, they tried a bomb and failed, then a young shooter succeed. He was

In 1914, European countries went to war with themselves. When the war broke out, it was expected to be done with quickly. However, much to Europe’s dismay, the war lasted for over four long years, with the lives of millions of soldiers and civilians being lost in the battle. After the war, Europeans questioned how this war came to be. There were many speculations and opinions on what caused the event known as World War One. However, only three of the most important reasons will be discussed.

At the turn of the twentieth century Europe seemed to enjoy a period of peace and progress. Yet below the surface, several forces were at work that would lead Europe into the “Great War”. Some of the causes of WW1 were Nationalism, Militarism, Imperial Rivalries, Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and Alliance.

Many factors contributed to the start of World WarI also known as “The Great War”. Multiple Peer reviewed articles study five of the leading causes of the war. In no particular order, it analyses short term as well as long term factors. Five of the commonly discussed contributors include but are not limited to Militarism, Alliances, Nationalism, Imperialism and the defining short term factor Assassination.

Militarism, nationalism, and the start of the alliance system between the great powers of the world in the beginning of the 20th century caused an enormous conflict that shortly after turned to the First World War. In late June 1914, Gavrilo Princip a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria which shortly after caused the beginning of the greatest and bloodiest war in history. The war was fought on different theaters by the world’s greatest empires at that time. The allies composed of the British and the French empires joined forces with mighty Russia against the Central powers composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. In 1917, three years after the war broke out, the Allies were joined by the United States which forced a quick defeat of the Central Powers. The introduction of new weapon technology and trench warfare caused an unimaginable amounts of destruction and deaths all over the content of Europe where most of the fighting took place. By the time the Great War had ended in 1918, more than 9 million soldiers had been killed and 21 million more injured. Many historians of the 20th Century blame the generals of the Great War for the massive death toll, they lacked the ability to adapt to the new warfare tactics and the horrifying modern weaponry.

An assassination that threw an entire continent into war, a brutal bloodshed that stretched over four year, and ten million lives lost. The morale of entire countries beaten into a tired submission. This is was what WWI left for Europe at it’s close in 1918. And these are the most popular details of this war. And although WWII is often spoke of more often and televised more than it’s predecessor, it’s importance and relevance does not waver. If it were not for this war, entire empires may still be in place. One could argue that if it were not for this war, Russia may still be under imperial rule. This one war was a spark in a flame that kept burning in Europe long after it ended. And though the assassination

Wars have immensely contributed to human history for thousands of years, becoming highly destructive usually for the means of gain. The First World War, also known as ‘the Great War’ was a truly global war centred in Europe. The causes of one of the most destructive wars in human history are still debated to this day. Some historians have come up with a list of multiple causes of the war. However, experts have identified some of the primary causes of the war, including the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. The causes of the truly deadly war, sending ripples of shock throughout Europe and the world, can be summarised into four points, and the start of the war pinpointed to one bullet from a young Serbians gun.

The United States wasn’t jumping to get involved it WWI. They wanted to remain neutral for the duration of the war. However those plans did not last because we entered the war in 1917. There were many reasons the war started in general and that U.S. entered the war. There were many things that resulted from the war.

Before World War 1 began there were many conflicts between many countries, these conflicts are what eventually led to the war. Nationalism lead to World War 1 for reasons people believed they needed to fight for their country, many people who weren’t fighting wanted to support their soldiers, and many soldiers felt as if they couldn’t back out of the war. Militarism was a cause because each country was building up their weapons and ammunition, as well as building up their armies. Finally Kaiser Wilhelm II was a cause because he had a very strong hate towards Britain, he was a very aggressive leader and he wanted Germany to be the number one country. Nationalism, militarism and Kaiser Wilhelm II were the three main causes of World War 1.

Britain initially stood as the “greatest” power of them all, with a population of 37 million by

World War I saw the nations involved rallied into two major alliances in order to curb German’s increasing power. It is evident that German amassing too much power poses a threat to the security of its counterparts in an anarchic system. As a result, other countries were willing to use various means not only to mitigate the risks but also maintain their independence in the world’s political structure. The balance of power theory focuses on how countries can achieve a balance and international order. The causes of World War one can be attributed to the balance of power mechanisms used by the countries involved.

The war that broke out in 1914 was one of the worst, if not the worst, wars in human history. It had left millions dead and a scar burned into European history forever. However, if we do not identify why war broke out in 1914, stopping others wars will be impossible. Clearly, we may never know the answer to this, but many sources give many interpretations. In this essay, I will try to recognise the key factors that led the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 and try to identify the most significant of these causes.