THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR I

THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR I

The origin of World War I included many factors, including the conflicts and antagonisms of the four decades leading up to the war. Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism played major roles in the decisions taken by statesmen and generals during the “July crisis of 1914”, the spark (or ‘casus belli’) for which was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by Gavrilo Pricip, a nationalist Serb.

However, the crisis did not exist in avoid. It came at the end of a long series of diplomatic clashes between the Great Powers in the decade prior to 1914 which had left tensions high almost to breaking point.

Although World War I was triggered by this chain of events unleashed by the assassination, the war’s origins go deeper, involving national politics, cultures, economics, and a complex web of alliances and counterbalances that developed between the course of the nineteenth century, following the final 1815 defeat Napoleon Bonaparte and the ensuing Congress of Vienna.

The reason for the outbreak of World War I is a complicated issue. Some examples are:

-                  Fervent and uncompromising nationalism

-                  Unresolved previous dispute

-                  Intricate system of Alliances

-                  Misperceptions of intent :the German belief Great Britain would remain neutral (Van Evera, Stephen)

-                  Convoluted and fragmented governances

-                  Delays and misunderstandings in diplomatic communications

-                  Arms races of the previous decades

-                  Previous military planning (Sagan, Scott D., 1986)

-                  Colonial rivalry (imperialism)

-                  Economic rivalry

PEACEMAKING, 1919: THE VERSAILLES SETTLEMENT

The treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of WW I. it ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, one of the events that triggered the start of war.

REFERENCES:

            The Globalization of World Politics 2^nd ed: an introduction to international relations, edited by John Baylis and Steve Smith

            Sagan, Scoot D. 1914. Revisited: Allies, Offense, and Instability (1986)

            Van Euera, Stephen. The Gulf of the Offensive and the Origin of the first WW. Summer 1984 p. 62

            www.greenwood.org