World War I causes and consequences

World War I: Causes and Analysis

Despite being precipitated by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria Hungary by a Serbian nationalist in 1914, the causes of World War I run deeper than that. In addition to the assassination as cause of World War I, we must also add imperialistic and nationalistic pressures to the list. These were the more significant causative factors that led directly to the onset of World War I. By the late 19th century, intense rivalries had emerged between the world's leading imperials power -- Germany, France, Great Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. This rivalry was built on a conflict of interests in Africa and China, the question of how to resolve the vacuum of power left by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and aggressive German imperialism that threatened France in Morocco and Great Britain's naval superiority ("World War I" 41532). Additionally, strong nationalism was growing throughout Europe at the time, intensifying political rivalries and undermining the domestic integrity of many of the imperial powers.

Given these sociopolitical causes to the start of World War I, it is doubtful that anything could have been down to avoid the conflict. If the Archduke hadn't been assassinated, some other (relatively) minor event would have touched off a conflict that had been brewing for many years. Throughout the 19th century, Europe's imperial powers had grown without much concern for each other. Spheres of influence were roughly divided in the world, and conflicts amounted to comparatively minor scuffles. But by the beginning of the 20th century, the territorial ambitions of these empires had not abated, while the availability of uncontrolled territory certainly had. Pressure to continue expanding precipitated the descent of Europe into war in 1914.

From this we can see that the main cause of the hostilities was the imperialistic rivalry that developed between the major states involved in the conflict. These states included Germany -- whose aggressive policy of expansion and investment in a powerful navy -- and Great Britain -- which had territorial holdings throughout the world. Other parties in the conflict included France, with strong imperial ambitions in northern Africa, and Russia, whose imperial expansion complicated matters in the MIddle East and even East Asia. In short, with so many great empires in Europe, it was only a matter of time before a major conflict erupted. That it took as long as it did to occur is perhaps the one surprising aspect in the history of World War I. It took an appropriate political excuse -- the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand -- to motivate the great empires into the first World War.