In the wake of the colonial era, neighboring nations in Europe vied for control of Colonial resources that would boost their national economies. Yet each country wanted its own, larger slice of the pie. Before Europe dreamed of even considering itself to be a cohesive political and economic entity like it is today, in the early 20th century neighboring countries like France, Belgium, and Germany fought over landholdings in various regions of the world including Africa and the Middle East as well as the East Indies. Japan and the United States would also play an important role in the evolution of imperialism prior and during World War One.
Finally, nationalism was one of the main causes of the First World War. A relatively new phenomenon in world history, nationalism entailed patriotic identification with a geo-political entity rather than with a broader empire such as the Ottoman. Nationalism could be predicated on culture, language or ethnicity. However, nationalism became increasingly based on political ideology as democracy and socialism showed initial signs of engaging in a face-off that would eventually lead up to a Second World War. Nationalism emerged in the modern age especially because of the downfall of monarchies and kingdoms that previously created a sense of community identity. The notion of the nation-state became supreme: and the remnants...
Since republics and democracies were replacing kingdoms throughout the Western world, nationalism was the new way of creating borders between in-group and out-group. Nationalism fomented tensions between neighboring states in Europe and gave impetus for public support of war.
World War One was caused by a number of interrelated factors that can be distilled into three main issues: militarism, imperialism, and nationalism. Militarism means to the proliferation of arms especially to boost state power and ensure dominion over other nations. Similarly, imperialism was used to secure worldwide economic resources and hence, political supremacy. Finally, nationalism proved to be the turning point that created strong public support for war. As individuals became increasingly patriotic, their loyalty to the nation grew strong enough to lead to war between and among neighboring states.
References
Karpilovsky, S., Fogel, M., & Kobelt, O. (1996). "Causes of World War One." History Pages. Retrieved Feb 27, 2008 at http://www.cusd.chico.k12.ca.us/~bsilva/projects/great_war/causes.htm
World War One Weapons: New Technology." Retrieved Feb 27, 2008 at http://www.revision-notes.co.uk/revision/927.html
