What was the leading cause of WWI?

The British wartime Prime Minister, David Lloyd-George, wrote after the conclusion of the war that the nations of Europe “slithered over the brink” of war, meaning that the decisions to go to war had emerged from a mess of miscalculation and muddle. The long term causes of World War I can be broadly categorized under nationalism, imperialism, militarism and the system of alliances. All of these causes were interrelated and operative at the same time and each had its contributory effect to the outbreak of the war. In addition there was a short term cause, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, that sparked the outbreak of hostilities. Every country that took up arms had its own reasons whether it was to repel an attack, to fulfill an obligation, or to protect national interests and prestige. More than anything else, however, the root cause of the war was the changes that took place in the map of Europe during the late 19^th Century that increased the friction between the major powers and fueled intense nationalistic fervor among the populations of Europe. In essence it was the intense antagonism between the major powers of Europe that resulted in the systems of alliances, imperialism, militarism, and, most importantly, nationalism, catalyzed by the Balkan Crisis, that led to the outbreak of war in 1914.

The system of alliances that split Europe broadly into two camps prior to World War I had evolved from the events that happened in the late 19^th Century. French antagonism toward Germany had existed since the Treaty of Frankfurt (1871). The forcible surrender of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany had fueled French nationalism and caused the formation of the Franco-Russian alliance of 1894 in an effort by France to ensure that in a future war it could regain the lost territory. Germany on the other hand was united under Bismarck on a platform of nationalistic unity of all Germanic people (Pan-Germanism) and was thus allied with Austria-Hungary, the main rival of Russia. Later on Britain emerged from their “Splendid Isolation” to eventually join France and Russia and form the Triple Entente of 1907. Another factor to consider in how the Alliances had evolved is the Pan-Slavism movement which sought to unite all Slavic people under Russian tutelage.

The antagonism between the major powers of Europe was not restricted to the continent but was carried overseas to their colonies. The main reason for the imperialistic policies was the intense rivalry for economic development through finding overseas markets for their industrial products on the one hand, and procuring cheap raw materials for their industries. However, countries were also motivated by national pride and the need to maintain the strong nationalistic sentiment at home necessary for the mobilization in war. In this context, a number of crises served to heighten the antagonism between the major allied blocks. For example, the Moroccan Crisis in 1904 between France and Britain, and Germany on the other hand and the Bosnian Crisis in 1908 between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, an ally of Russia. The political elites, in Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, aroused nationalism through an aggressive foreign policy in order to consolidate their authority in their countries.

It was inevitable that the intense rivalry of the major powers in Europe would lead to militarism which in turn led to a frantic arms race and the development of huge armies on the continent. All the countries adopted systems of universal conscription at the end of the 1870s which required that citizens would swell the armies to huge sizes. The political elites and the military establishment needed to fuel nationalistic passions in order to conscript huge numbers of people who joined the armies enthusiastically. In turn these nationalistic passions made it inevitable that militarism would eventually lead to armed confrontation between the powers. The armies of both France and Germany had both doubled between 1870 and 1914 and there was a fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas (e.g. development of the Dreadnought battle ship by Britain and corresponding battleship by Germany). Everyone assumed that war was inevitable and the Germans drew up attack plans against France through Belgium, if they were attacked by Russia. Arguments of military urgency and expediency took over the mentality of soldiers.

Nationalism, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the root of the tensions that eventually led to the break out of World War I. Nationalism is defined as the ideology of passionate support of the rights and interests of one’s country without consideration toward the rights of other countries. Pan-Germanism and Pan-Slavism were exclusively nationalistic movements that served the interests of uniting Germanic peoples under Germany and Slavic people under Russian rule. The British policy at the time, (Splendid Isolation) was a nationalistic ideology and France had its very own nationalistic motivations to recover the lost territory of Alsace-Lorraine. Also, other nationalistic movements, including the Balkan states seeking to overthrow Ottoman rule, added to the tensions.

Whilst all the key causes mentioned above can be considered as long term causes of the World War because they had climaxed since the 1870s, the war was sparked by the Bosnian Crisis. In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexed the provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina which dismayed the Serbs and their Russian allies. In 1914, the Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, was assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist initiating a series of events that led to the outbreak of war across the entire continent. The Austrians, determined to crush Serbia, relied on the German “Blank Check” (unconditional support) to issue an ultimatum to the Serbs which was rejected. Austria declared war on Serbia which caused Russia to quickly mobilize its army on the German as well as the Austrian frontier. Germany declared war on Russia and believing that France would join, they also declared war on France. Germany’s advance through Belgium (in order to escape the trenches built by the French) brought England into the war against Germany because of the Treaty of Neutrality (1839).

In conclusion, the intense antagonism between the major powers of Europe that resulted in the systems of alliances, imperialism, and militarism was underpinned by intense nationalistic passions. Essentially, it was a struggle for predominance between the major powers of Europe, each pursuing its nationalistic goals. Nationalism was clearly at the root of all the key causes of the Great War. Had the ideology of nationalism never have arisen perhaps the World War could have been avoided.