Cause of World War I Essay

1. Cause of World War I Essay
WWI Causes
World War I, a war that started out locally in Europe between Austria
–Hungary and Serbia that later
ended up including thirty two different nations. This war has been around for almost a century and
yet the causes of it are still being debated. There are many different scenarios that have been
considered. Some of the key reasons that were believed to have instigated WWI were nationalism,
imperialism, militarism, and an arrangement of treaties. Also the assassination of ArchdukeFranz
Ferdinand was believed to be one of the immediate causes.
Nationalism is the doctrine that your national culture and interests are superior to any other. From
just reading the meaning of nationalism it is quit obvious to see that this idea will...show more
content...
Therefore you could say nationalism led to the war between Serbia and Austria–Hungary which later
escalated into WWI.
Another debated cause is imperialism, which is the policy of extending a nation's authority by
territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations.
This contributed to WWI because of the rivalry it caused in Europe between Great Britain, Germany,
and France. They needed foreign markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial
Revolution. Great Britain, Germany, and France competed for economic expansion in Africa. Even
though Great Britain and France came to an agreement several problems before the war had to do
with the dislike of Germany against Great Britain and France in North Africa. Also the crumbling of
the Ottoman–Empire in the Middle East was a big factor for Austria–Hungary, the Balkans and
Russia. So the competition for colonies brought great powers into conflict and fueled the ideas of
war and added to the present tension that already existed, and that tension keeps on building up.
Militarism is believed to also be one of the causes. Militarism is a policy in which military
preparedness is of primary importance to a state. After the French Revolution and the Napoleonic
Era vast citizen armies were thought of as being standard. The Prussian system of draft and reserved
armies impressed a lot of the
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