Imperialism and Nationalism -- the 'isms' that gave rise to the First World War What was the cause of the conflagration known as the 'war to end all wars' that nearly destroyed the entire world during the first part of the 20th century? According to Vladimir Lenin, imperialism alone was the root cause of World War I. The founder of the modern Soviet Union argued that competition for land and resources inevitably let to armed conflict between the capitalist nations of Western Europe. However, although nationalism was a key factor in the development of World War I, an equally critical factor was the nationalism in the colonized nations that imperialism spawned, and the secret alliances contracted between various imperial powers out of fear of one another's concealed might.

In his speech, "The Maintenance of Empire" in 1872, the then-British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli stated to the assembled, "gentlemen," that "there is another and second great object of the Tory party. If the first is to maintain the institutions of the country, the...

As is also evidenced in the issue that eventually divided the Liberal Party of England in "The Boer War Defended" (1900) by Joseph Chamberlain as well as "The Boer War Criticized" (1900) by David Lloyd George, although there was some sympathy for those living in colonized nations who wished to be free of the imperial yolk, and anger and fear regarding the dangers entanglements abroad caused British troops, the more pressing fear of losing the economic and political advantage of having an empire outweighed such concerns.
This was not true simply for England, however, but for all European imperial powers. But there was another -ism at stake in the development of World War I, one equally as important as imperialism, and that was nationalism. This was not simply the nationalism of the imperial nations but also the nationalism that rose up…