Causes of World War One

Causes of the First World War

The First World War is by far one of the most important events in History taught in school. It was a traumatic war that wreaked havoc in the world from its outbreak in 1914 to its end in 1918. Even after the War, it had disastrous consequences for both parties. World War I was a total war that involved the economies, governments, and populations of participating nations to an extent never seen before in History. The outbreak of World War I in 1914 was due to a combination of various causes: alliances, imperialism, nationalism, militarism, and mainly because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In this essay,  we will examine the extent to which the alliance system was the most important of these causes and, more crucially, how the alliance system related to the other causes. We will argue that the alliance system, although a key provocation of tension, was neither the trigger for war nor the most important cause. However, it was arguably the factor that created a war of such magnitude: the First World War.

Firstly, the alliance system has caused tensions in Europe for several reasons. Primarily, with the creation of two rival teams: on one hand the Triple Entente of 1907 (Britain, France and Russia) and on the other the Triple Alliance of 1882 composed of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, tensions began. The “spirit” of these alliance groups was very aggressive: the Triple Entente was explicitly put in place in opposition to the Triple Alliance; these two groups were not friendly. This rivalry eventually led to tension and conflict, and it was through this conflict and competition that the alliance system contributed to the outbreak of war in 1914. Furthermore, Alliances also helped to expand and intensify the war. When the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914 caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia in July 1914, it set off a chain reaction of alliances that encompassed the majority of Europe. Then, the world got involved in this war which progressively became international and total. It was an internal war for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The first to join the conflict was Russia, which forewarned Austria-Hungary that it would intervene to protect Serbia in the event of attack because the Russian and Serbian peoples had common Slavic ties with their ancestors. Germany, thanks to its "Schlieffen Plan" strategy and its unconditional "blank check" support for Austria-Hungary, resolved to attack preemptively and declared war on France and Russia. To attack France, Germany invaded Belgium, causing Britain to declare war on Germany and complete the expansion of the war. Although this domino effect reinforces the argument that alliances propagate war, it is important to note that the first "alliance" triggered was not part of the "alliance system" of the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Russian-Serbian alliance was a bilateral agreement based on national identity rather than a strategic alliance within these coalitions. Similarly, British involvement in the defence of Belgium was not part of the Triple Entente. So, while alliances surely added to European pressure and degenerated the war, we cannot attribute entire responsibility to the alliance system for forming the war.

Regarding other causes, militarism is most deeply linked to the alliance system. Militarism was arguably the elemental logic of these alliance systems: the urge to build the most powerful armies and navies forced rival groups into all-out competition. An example is the Anglo-German arms race, competing to build the new elite warship: the Dreadnought. The British government had long had a policy that its navy should be stronger than the two strongest navies combined (at the instigation of imperialism, another cause), and this policy was seriously threatened when the Germans began to step up their military expansion. Moreover, militarism represented the belief among numerous governments that war was "good for a country": war was always the first alternative in disagreements and diplomacy was seen as weak and inefficient. Hence, not only did militarism create the conditions for conflict by creating rivals in the alliance system, but it also made war much more likely in the event of a dispute (assassination). Therefore, militarism can be considered a blatant factor that contributed to the outbreak of war, although it alone was not enough to start the war.

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