Three policies that led to the outbreak of War in Europe in 1914. What nation is primary responisble - Essay Example

Introduction The war that occurred in 1914 was among the worst wars ever experienced in human history. The war lead to death of millions of people and left many others severely injured. People were separated from their loved ones since some were forced to free from the war torn areas and seek refuge in the neighboring peaceful countries (Afflerbach and Stevenson 94). The War can be attributed to the harsh policies adopted by various European nations in their quest to assert political and economic superiority.

Each nation was struggling to emerge as the world’s economic power. For instance, Germany established aggressive foreign policies that created unhealthy relationship with other nations. The policies deteriorated the existing peaceful trading partnerships and eventually led to the poor performance of the international market. The three policies that fuelled the war were; the Germany’s expansionist policy, the emergence of two opposing sides (the triple alliance and the triple alliance) and the isolation policy.

The Germany’s expansionist policyGermany had a great urge to dominate the world economy. The only means to achieve this was by acquiring more territories and colonies. By this time, the world was portioned among the major powers such as the Britain. In this regard, Germany had to use military conquest to acquire territories that were already possessed by other European nations. The use of force to acquire new territories strained the already poor relation between Germany and some European powers such as Britain.

These nations responded furiously to defend their interest and to maintain their political and economic power. This eventually led to the sprouting of a massive war that spread to almost all parts of the world.Formation of mutual alliancesSome countries in Europe started forming defense alliances and promised to protect each other in case any of them was attacked by their rivals. For instance, Germany and Austria-Hungary joined and formed the dual alliance. Italy joined the alliance, and the three formed the triple alliance.

On the other hand, Britain, France and Russian joined to form the triple entente. These two coalitions heightened the tension among the rival European nations leading to the sparking of the World War 1. Isolation policyThe isolation policy adopted USA also contributed to the sprouting of the war. The US kept off from engaging in European affairs and thereby cold not assist in reconciling the European nations. However, it offered financial support to warring nations.The responsibility of the war can be blamed on Germany’s ultimate support for Austria-Hungary in its fight war with Serbia.

The major motive for Germany to join the war was to confront Russia in case it attacked Austria. ConclusionThe World War1 resulted in severe economic, political and social consequences to the nations involved. The war was castigated by the harsh foreign policies established by various European nations against each other. The Germany’s expansionist policy and the formation of allies deteriorate the existing friendship thereby causing the war. From the lessons learnt from the first and second world war, leaders from all parts of the world should work together to avert any incident that might result in another global war.

Work cited:Afflerbach, Holger, and D Stevenson. An Improbable War?: The Outbreak of World War I and European Political Culture Before 1914. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012. Print.