World War I: causes, course, and consequences

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 second is, in my opinion, to uphold the empire of England." The maintenance of the security of the British homeland was thus tied inextricably to the security of the British Empire abroad in Disraeli's mind. 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 in the smaller provinces of Europe to counteract such imperialistic notions of the major powers. It was a representation of one such anarchist, nationalist revolutionary 'cell' groups that gave birth and impetus to the radical activist whom ultimately undertook the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand. Revolutionary ire generated by the drain imperialism caused upon the home nations, because of the monetary costs of maintaining an extensive empire abroad also allowed the communist powers, led by Lenin, to overtake the Russian empire. Ironically, given his disdain for imperialist entanglements, if it had not been for imperialism and the disquiet its economic and military drain of resources generated in the Russian peasantry, it is unlikely that Lenin could have come to power in Russia.