Principal Causes for World War I - Term Paper Example

World War 1 was such a cataclysmic event that led to the loss of millions of lives in Europe thus, almost extinguishing an entire European generation. The Congress of Vienna (1814) campaigned towards the establishment of a global peaceful environment that would last for about a century. The congress held peaceful assemblies frequently from 1843-1907, preaching peace and campaigning towards the use of a non-violent way of solving European issues and tensions. As a result, despite the ensuing clashes such as the Crimean War (1853) and Franco-Prussian War (1871), wars between nations had been widely slashed off thus becoming a thing of the past. However, in the subsequent years, there was rising tension among European superpowers that would only need the slightest spark to commence a war. Even though militarism played a major role in the setting up of a pugnacious atmosphere in Europe, the principal reasons that led to World War 1 can be attributed to the emergence of alliances, nationalism, and imperialism.

Alliances were a major cause for the First World War since their emergence increased tension among the European Nations thus creating an atmosphere of fear and conflict. In the later years of the 19th Century, Germany forged coordination of alliances with its neighboring countries with the aim of eliminating France. The Germans were therefore planning revenge as a result of losing the Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War (1871), (Hamilton 13). Therefore, despite the existence of old and unsolved tensions between European Nations, the formation of alliances propagated further tension. This is because when one nation formed alliances with another, it would engineer feelings of belligerence thereby increasing tension between nations that would ultimately lead to war. For instance, at the time when Austria and Hungary declared war on Serbia, the alliance formed between Serbia and Russia made Russia engage in the conflict thereby mobilizing their troops against Austria-Hungary. The absence of the alliances would therefore reduce the chances of a world war since the war would only be between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

Equally important, imperialism was also another major reason that stimulated World War 1. Due to imperialism, there was the creation of tensions among the European Nations thus increasing unrest in the Balkans thereby widening the European rift and conflict to include the entire world (Hamilton 16). For instance, imperialism led to the creation of competition and the emergence of tension among the European superpowers such as Germany, Great Britain, and Russia. The creation of new nations such as Germany and Italy in the 1860s and 1870s led to challenging of traditional supremacy of countries such as France and Great Britain in their African and Asian colonies. Therefore, the desire of the new nations to expand their territorial rule and empire created intense tension that led to the first-word war. It is worth noting that, imperialism was not only a major cause for tension among nations, but it created tension that led to a supremacy battle. Without imperialism, therefore, there would be less tension among nations thus reducing the chances for a World War.

Comparatively, Nationalism was another chief factor that sparked the First World War since it created economic and territorial competition. In fact, the Balkan crisis ultimately propagated the First World War as a result of nationalism. Due to nationalism, the tensions between countries in Europe heightened. For instance, Great Britain was in control of about 23 percent of the world’s total manufacturing output as compared to 8.5 percent that was controlled by Germany. Germany was therefore pressured to catch up to Britain, therefore making Britain threaten it due to the fear of competition. This led to the increase in tensions between the different countries and as a result, alliances were formed thus facilitating the world war. In addition, Nationalism also spurred the decisions of other countries such as Italy to join the war with the aim of acquiring important factors such as land and labor. Read More