Contemporary history: key events and significance

Causes of World War I and Their Respective Importance

This paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature to develop an analysis concerning how nationalism and imperialism contributed to the outbreak of World War I. Using historical examples to support this answer, a determination of which of the various causes of World War I was the most important is provided, together with evidence in support of this rationale.

In reality, in mid-1914, Europe was a political powder keg ready to be ignited by any number of events, and the fact that it was triggered by the assassination of a relatively obscure Austrian figure, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, is proof positive that things were ready to explode. Although it is reasonable to suggest that any number of events could have triggered World War I given the volatile nature of the political environment in Europe at the time, the event that precipitated World War I took place on June 28, 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Serbia, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by the Black Hand, a nationalist secret society based in Serbia (Levinson, 2008). According to Levinson, "Austria-Hungary's reaction to the death was an ultimatum to Serbia, which demanded the assassins be brought to justice [and] effectively violated Serbian sovereignty" (p. 158). Following Austria-Hungary's rejection of the Serbian response to the ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, thereby tipping the first in a domino-like series that would culminate with the "War to End All Wars."

For example, Levinson advises that, "Bound by treaty to Serbia, the Russian army mobilized. Germany viewed the Russian mobilization as an act of war against Austria-Hungary, and declared war on Russia on August 1, [1914]" (2008, p. 158). Bound by its treaty with Russia, France likewise followed suit and declared war on Germany, and in doing so declared war against Austria-Hungary as well a few days later on August 3, 1914 (Levinson, 2008). In response to this series of events, Germany invaded one of the Low Countries, Belgium, which was neutral at the time, in an attempt to invade France as quickly as possible (Levinson, 2008). These military events were followed by the declaration of war on Germany by the United Kingdom pursuant to its moral and legal obligations to France and its obligations to defend Belgium under the terms of a 75-year-old treaty (Levinson, 2008). Consequently, Britain was also at war with Austria-Hungary and the European continent was fully engaged in the beginnings of World War I.

Some contemporary historians argued that had the precipitating of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand not occurred, the First World War would not have taken place, at least for awhile. In this regard, Bloch and Soames (1935) maintain that, "Had [the assassination] not occurred, there would have been neither an Austro-Serbian War, nor a World War, in the summer of 1914" (p. 199). In support of this assertion, Bloch and Soames (1935) suggest that existing political and military alliances would have ensured a fragile stability on the continent for years to come, but many modern historians disagree (Levinson, 2008).