Causal Attributes of World War I, Research Paper Example

Europe emerged into a civil disorder in the first decades of the twentieth century. There had been discussion of war in the beginning of the twentieth century. This debate was held by novelists, philosophers and politicians. The characteristics of a continental European war in comparison to the imperialistic ventures of the nineteenth century were not comprehended.[1] The thesis question that was reviewed in this research is what the causes of World War I were.

Wars had been manifested by the excursions of superior military forces against nations which were weak and distant. In the nineteenth century, the victors applied mechanical weapons against primitive spears. The world knew little of the horrors that would be addressed in a global confrontation.[2]  In the second decade of the twentieth century, war erupted in Europe. The minor conflicts grew into a global war. The World War I had been a war which emerged due to divisions. The First World War resulted in a transformation in the balance of global power. There had been the loss of territory by empires and there were drastic modifications in the dissemination of national force.[3]

The discord with regards to the importance of World War I did not provide an extension to the era which preceded the war. The first fifteen years of the twentieth century resulted in a storm which exploded with a catalyst. The primary maritime power was great Brittan which had no troop commitments in Europe. Germany was the empire with the largest contingency of ground troops. The United States was a country that was in debt. In addition, Japan, Italy and the United States were not at the point of being able to claim the position of being a global power. Spain was going into a retrocession as a world power.[4]

The separation of Asia and Africa by the global powers was in a process of uncertain development. The British Empire had not been supplanted by the British commonwealth of countries. The United Kingdom dominated over Ireland and Great Britain. Queen Victoria was the ruler of Ireland, Great Britain and India. There had been four substantial empires which dominated Europe. These four empires were the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian – Hungary Empire, Germany and Russia. Asia was dominated by the Chinese, Russian and British. The semblance of European hegemony was conserved by tradition and public perception. There was an apprehension that any type of modification in the European order would cause the entire system to collapse.[5]

The collection of crises which derived the horrors of World War I were the outcomes of conflicting aspirations and ambitions among the primary global powers. There were no nations which hoped to engage in a European conflict, however, some of the global powers aspired to retain their territories and others hoped to expand their empires. The catalysts of World War I was ignited by the murder of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir apparent to the throne of the Austria – Hungary Empire.[6]

The Archduke Ferdinand had been traveling with his spouse in Sarajevo, which had been the capital city of Bosnia- Herzegovina. The Archduke Ferdinand had been targeted due to the apprehensions that his realization of becoming the Austrian- Hungarian monarch

would encourage the repressions that had been conducted against the Serbians who were residing in the territories held by the Austrian -Hungary Empire. The terrorist organization which represented the Serbians, designated as the Black Hand, administrated a minute group of teenage soldiers to enter Bosnia and murder the Archduke Ferdinand.[7] The causal attribute of the disturbance was the Ottoman Empire’s waning influence. As the influence of the Ottoman Empire was waning, there had been a surge of nationalism that erupted in the Balkans. [8]

The surge of nationalism caused a civil disturbance to start in 1912. This occurred when the forces from Montenegro invaded the frontier of the Ottoman Empire. Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia entered into the war. The Turks were routed from Kosovo, Albania and Macedonia. These nations subsequently declared their autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. Subsequently, the Serbs rebelled against the Bulgarians and placed a siege on Macedonia and Kosovo. The Austrian – Hungary Empire which was administrating Bosnia Herzegovina sent the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to ease the civil disturbance. The Archduke Ferdinand was encouraging the concept of the Slavs exercising a greater participation in the Austrian – Hungarian empire as a protection against the Serbs. Consequently, the Archduke Ferdinand and his spouse were assassinated by a Serbian who was part of the nationalist movement. This was the crucial catalyst for World War I.[9]

In the first decades of the twentieth century, the global scene was distinct from what it would become after World War I. This was due to the attribute that Europe was perceived as the center of the world from an economic and political perspective. In the beginning of the twentieth century, the premises that represented Europe which were a mainly secularized society, constitutional governance and nationalism.  In the nineteenth century, there had been a movement which overtook Europe. This movement assisted in the emergence of World War I.[10]

The movement that overtook Europe in the nineteenth century was the nationalist movement. This is the perception that loyalty to a country with the political and economic objectives held by the administrators would supersede any type of public loyalty. The concept of political democracy had been distributed by the French revolution and the Napoleonic era. The concept that prevailed was that people who were derived from mutual ethnic origins, political ideals and language have the authority of residing in autonomous states. [11]

The patriotism which ensued as a result of the Napoleonic era increased the potential of a European conflict due to the national aspirations becoming conflicted with the national aspirations of neighboring countries. In addition, the perception of nationalism become the causal attribute of countries enabling small disputes to increase in importance. As a result, a minor skirmish could have had the outcome of a wide scale war. There had been dissatisfaction with the concept of nationalism as a result of the Congress that was held in Vienna in 1815. In the accord that had been made, the conservation of peace was selected over nationalism. Italy and Germany remained as divided nations. [12]

The Franco- Prussian conflict that occurred in 1871 had the outcome of France being relieved of the Alsace- Lorraine province which had been ceded to Germany. The French were not happy with the loss of Alsace- Lorraine and wanted to regain their territory. Furthermore, the Austrian – Hungary Empire administrated a number of lands which other empires perceived as pertaining to them. The Slovaks and the Czechs wanted their autonomy from the Austrian – Hungary Empire, Italy was desiring the Trieste and Trentino areas and Serbia had aspirations of conquering Bosnia – Herzegovina. In addition, the Russians were experiencing civil disturbances within the nation. World War I occurred due to a number of distinct nations seeking their autonomy in the guise of nationalism.[13]

The competition over the imperialist outposts in Africa and Asia were also a factor in the outbreak of World War I. Morocco sought its independence from France and the Germans abetted the Moroccan fight for autonomy. As a result a treaty was signed and Morocco became a protectorate of France. In the annexation of Bosnia – Herzegovina by the Austria – Hungary Empire, another crisis emerged. The crisis was averted due to the premise that the Serbians would require military assistance from the Russians and the Russians were experiencing civil disturbances in their nation. The Germans enabled Morocco to become a French protectorate with the trade of the Congo area in Africa. [14]

There had been an intensification of military forces by the European nations prior to the outbreak of World War I. The naval forces and the land military troops of the European nations were fortified. The politicians realized that the military build-ups would either lead their nations to war or bankruptcy. There had been conference at Hague during 1906 and 1907 convened to reach a multilateral disarmament. These conventions at Hague were unsuccessful. Britain concentrated on the fortification of its naval forces. Germany perceiving that Britain may be a potential foe began to fortify its own naval force. The naval build-up that was conducted by Germany caused a rivalry between Great Britain and Germany. The technological advances caused the construction of battleships, armaments and railroads in order to mobilize troops with increased facility.[15]

There had been a perception of security prior to the outbreak of World War I. The perception of peace was caused by the forming of alliances. There had been a triple alliance which had been conducted by Italy, Germany and Austria- Hungary. Britain which had pursued an isolationist policy in the nineteenth century saw the need to join alliances. Britain joined the triple entente which included Britain, Russia and France. These two collections of alliances caused Europe to become polarized with regards to political and economic perspectives.

The battle lines had been defined on June 28, 1914. Austria – Hungary declared war against Serbia with the support of the German empire. Consequently, the French were reinforcing their alliance with Russia. As a result, Russia declared was against the Austrian – Hungarian empire. Several days later, Germany declared war against Russia and France. As a result, Britain declared war against Germany.[16]

Conclusion

The catalysts for World War I were numerous. The technological advances and the imperialistic aspirations of the European nations brought them into conflict with one another. In addition, there were empires which would lose parts of their territory and other which stood to gain. The nationalist ideals which had been disseminated by the Napoleonic era with the French Revolution caused increased perceptions of nationalism. These enhanced perceptions of nationalism wo9uld have had the causal attribute of magnifying any regional incident into a large scale; war. The forming of the triple alliance and the entente cordials were the primary causal attributes of the outbreak of World War I.

Bibliography

Afflerbach, Holger and David Stevenson. An Improbable War? The outbreak of World War I and European Political Culture before 1914. USA: Berghahn Books, 2012.

Allan, Tony. The Causes of World War I. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2003.

Clark, Christopher. The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2013.

Gainty, Denis and Walter D. Ward. Sources of World Societies. Second edition. Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martins, 2012.

Pitkin, Thomas M.  and Francesco Cordesco, The Black Hand: A Chapter in Ethnic Crime. Patterson, NJ: Littlefield Adams Publishers, 1977.

Ross, Stewart. Causes and Consequences of the First World War. London, England: Evans Brothers Limited, 2003.

Tuchman, Barbara W. The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I; Barbara Tuchman’s Great WarSeries. New York, NY; Presidio Press, 2004.

[1]. Tony Allan, The Causes of World War I (Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2003), 43.

[2].  Denis Gainty and Walter D. Ward, Sources of World Societies, Second edition (Boston, MA: Bedford St. Martins, 2012), 267.

[3] . Ibid., 45.

[4]. Stewart Ross, Causes and Consequences of the First World War (London, England: Evans Brothers Limited, 2003). 19.

[5]. Ibid., 20.

[6]. Ibid., 25.

[7]. Thomas M. Pitkin and Francesco Cordesco, The Black Hand: A Chapter in Ethnic Crime (Patterson, NJ: Littlefield Adams Publishers, 1977), 136.

[8].  Holger Afflerbach and David Stevenson, An Improbable War? The outbreak of World War I and European Political Culture before 1914 (USA: Berghahn Books, 2012), 43.

[9]. Ibid., 19.

[10]. Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I; Barbara Tuchman’s Great War Series (New York, NY; Presidio Press, 2004), 278.

[11]. Ibid., 280.

[12]. Ibid., 291.

[13]. Ibid., 43.

[14]. Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2013), 37.

[15]. Tuchman, The Guns of August: The Outbreak of World War I; Barbara Tuchman’s Great War Series, 273.

[16]. Ibid.,476.