Causes of World War I with Relationship to Current Conflicts

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Causes of World War I with Relationship to Current Conflicts

As the war of the worlds collide between the more democratic Allies and the orthodox Central powers, there were numerous causes to the war in which they can be summed up into the –isms of modern analysis. In the 19th, 20th, and even the 21st century, almost all of the conflicts can be categorized in either one or a combination of those –isms.

Nationalism and Extreme Nationalism

One of the causes of World War I can be linked to the use of extreme nationalism. An easily abused method, nationalism proved worthy of a war during the Napoleonic Era.

Extreme nationalism was one of the causes of World War I because of the unification of Germany and Italy. Nationalism led European nations to compete for the largest army and navy, or the greatest industrial development. It also gave groups of subject peoples the idea of forming independent nations of their own. Germany wanted to match the British navy superiority during the reign of Kaiser William II. The nationalistic Italians who had just unified were also willing to fight alongside the Germans in order to prove themselves. Serbian nationalists however, were directly involved with the cause of WW I. On June 28, 1914, the young Princip assassinated Archduke Francis Ferdinand and thus brought about the ultimatum of Austria-Hungary. Encouraged by the ‘brotherhood’, the Germans willingly watched over its brother and fortified the Anshluss, another case of nationalism. The entanglement of alliances would bring about the war.

There are many examples of nationalism in current conflicts today. In the India and Pakistan conflict, nationalists willingly sacrificed themselves for pride and respect. As each country devoted massive resources to the occupation of Kashmir, they both owed the support to their people. The fear of nuclear warfare did not influence the people at all as nationalistic groups fought over the birthplace of India.

The lack of nationalism also proved to be a conflict for the people of Burma or Myanmar. The militaristic government’s philosophy of ruling isolated left people to live in absolute poverty and is a major human rights concern.

Imperialism

The start of World War I was owed partly to the imperialism that was prominent throughout the world. A direct cause focused on the economical success of Germany. Its claims on colonies and territory such as Alsace-Lorraine proved to be decisive and matched those of Britain’s claims on its colonies, which included India and Burma….

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