In The Guns of August Barbara Touchman presents a vivid image of the events and causes that lead to the First World War. The multitudes of motives that become evident in her book imply that none of Waltz's three images was solely responsible for the outbreak of war. However, the image that best explains the origins of World War I is the anarchy of the international system. The internal structure of individual states and the nature of men are two images that considerably contributed to the war but should be considered in the broader context of European rivalries that took place in the vacuum of interstate relations.
The premier reason for war, related to the realist image, came from the shift in the balance of power. The growing strength of Germany led to a military build-up in all the European countries. As military force is a zero-sum game, France, England and Russia expanded their armies in an attempt to preserve their relative power. Also, long preparation for the event of war permeated throughout Europe. Germany, France, Britain, and Russia all devised elaborate military plans that would correct the balance of power and bring the enemies under control. While the French had forged a German invasion draft called Plan 17 in 1911, the Germans created their own military tactic called the Von Schlieffen Plan already in 1906. The Chief of German Military, General Moltke saw the coming of war as inevitable. These extensive military preparations put countries in an inflexible position. Although, some countries were more focused on scaring other others than fighting, the commitment to military action undermined any attempts of peaceful negotiation. Mobilization brought countries on collision course that could only be stopp...
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...ke Ferdinand was only an efficient factor of the war. The true, underlying permissive factor is best described by Waltz's third image. A shattered balance of power and the resulting mobilization illustrated this perspective. While not a dominating factor, the second image was characterized by internal state conflicts and excessive decision-making authority of the leaders. Waltz's first image was portrayed in the abundance of personal stories and descriptions of character weaknesses, which demonstrated that all of the national decisions are made by fallible humans. The analysis of First World War proves that each of the images played some role in the conflict but that the anarchy of international system was the most compelling reason for the first global war in history.
Works Cited
Barbara Tuchman. The Guns of August. New York: Ballantine Books, 1994.
So when asking the question what the causes of World War One are its important to remember that the rivalries between European states were intensified by the imperialism of the 19th century. Which lead to tension which became fear of invasion that in turn resulted in an intricate system of alliances “ensured what might have been an isolated crisis in the Balkans became a general war”. Whilst the effects of imperialism may not be the single cause of the war, it was undoubtedly a contributing
1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power.
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.
But what would ultimately lead to the outbreak of the first world war was Germany’s ever-increasing belief in militarism. The German military power had continued to grow as their industrial sector did the same; such power was seen as a symbol of national pride by the government. Other nations had built up their arms stockpiles as well, though they did not glorify it nearly as much as the Germans did. Nevertheless, the availability of arms, when combined with other political and economic factors, meant that a full-scale conflict was all but unavoidable.
Militarism was another great reason why WWI erupted. Militarism is the desire or belief that a country should maintain a strong military. Britain and Germany both believed the should have a strong navy, this is why they often argued about being the master of the sea, as stated here, "There was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas.
The American people thought they had captured the idea of “the shot heard around the world” when the first shot was fired in the American Revolution. The idea was then redefined when Gavrilo Princip shot and killed the Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, and his wife. This one shot of violence began a “war to end all wars.” However, what were the hidden reasons that started World War I. How could two small countries petty affairs start a war so large that in the end countries from every civilized continent would take part? Through the different alliances, acts of imperialism, -- the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies (Dictionary.com), militarism, -- the principle or policy of maintaining a large military establishment (Dictionary.com), and nationalism, -- the policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one's own nation, viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations (Dictionary.com), these many countries had set a stage for a cataclysmic end.
At the end of the 19th century and early in the 20th century, many saw warfare as a necessary component of modern statecraft and even saw war as the marker of the coming of a new age. Three main forces that prompted World War I were: militarism, nationalism, and imperialism. Militarism is the idea wherein a country is able maintain strong military capabilities and be prepared to aggressively defend or promote national interests. Imperialism is defined as an empire created by a country that rules and governs the people to create a civilized society. Lastly, nationalism is the notion wherein a countries own need must be prioritized before any other. Heinrich von Tretschke, Henri Massis, and Alfred de Tarde, wrote articles to voice out their pro-war spirit during World War I. They believed nationalism was one of the main arguments that led European nations to go to war at the turn of the century.
These nations were building large armies and enhancing the glories of war. After rationalizing a huge arms race, people were eager to put up large amounts of money to support their government’s vast military. Great Britain has always had a large navy. Germany decided it wanted a navy to rival Britain’s. When the people of Britain saw the buildup of Germany’s navy, they got scared and started producing more and bigger ships for it’s own navy. Every time Britain got a “leg up” on Germany, Germany struggled to outdo Britain, and vice-versa. Soon, the public was clamoring for war. Militarism is based on imperialism and the fear that another nation is getting ahead imperially.
The underlying cause of World War I was the build up of Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism in the 1800s. The “three isms” caused this great war due to the outcry in which they caused within the countries and their citizens including military build up, severe nationalism, patriotism, and extending a country 's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
The supreme present of militarism, "a policy of aggressive military preparedness" , in this period of time gave all countries great reason to feel the heavy weight of an oncoming war. Great Britain's naval policy (to always be twice as big as the next two largest navies put together), along with the predominate feeling of war provided countries with a strong reason to try and create an incredibly strong military force. This led to an arms race, which made the impending war seem inevitable. The military planning in some countries also caused an increased fear of war. Since military machines were being developed, each country was appointing a general staff of experts. The greatest problem with this was that there was a fear that "some chief of staff, in order to maintain the schedule on his 'timetable', might force an order of mobilization and thus precipitate war." These two factors also led, in part, to the alliance system. If two or more countries are allied with each other then they have a better chance of defeating their common enemy if war is declared.
The first global world war that led to the death of millions of people and the use of excessive chemical weapons, tanks, and machine guns that the world has ever witnessed is accused by Germany’s violent actions and their extreme ideologies, but some others argue Germany was not the sole cause of the war. In an attempt to dominate the world, Germany enforced their extreme ideologies to the rest of Europe. Many scholars believe that Germany fueled World War 1 because Germany believed that they should conquer the weak. Some people believe that Germany was the sole cause of World War because their extreme ideologies led them to declare war on other countries. Although Germany deliberately supported Austria to go to war with Serbia, supported the idea of Nationalism, and signed secret treaties, Russia also supported Serbia and signed secret treaties. Thus, Germany wasn’t the sole motive of World War 1.
details the causes of the first World war and describes the first month of the war. The book clearly illustrates how a local war became an entire European struggle by a call to war against Russia. Soon after the war became a world issue.
National interest was a key factor in the explosive beginning of World War One. By looking at the Naval Arms Race, the People’s Revolt in Austria-Hungary and European alliances, it can be shown that national interest was a significant factor in contributing to World War One. The ultra nationalistic views of many countries overruled their ability to act in a just and logical manner. It was in the years following the formation of the Triple Alliance in which the desire and craving for power grew, and created insincere relationships and unrealistic portrayals of other countries intentions.
World War I was a conflict that claimed over 10 million peoples’ lives, ravaged all of Europe and engineered modern warfare, as it is know today. The Great War has been scrutinized and examined through many complex theories in order to understand how such a conflict escalated to one of the most epic wars in history. This essay, like many works before it, looks to examine WWI and determine its causes through two distinct levels of analysis, individual and systemic. The individual level of analysis locates the cause of conflicts in individual leaders or decision makers within a particular country, focusing on the characteristics of human decision-making. The systemic level of analysis explains the causation of a conflict from a system wide level that includes all states, taking in to account the distribution of power and the interaction of states in the international system.
Europe has seen many wars over its vast and broad history, some of which being quite immense and destructive. One such war would undoubtedly be World War One. A war powered by the brainwashing ways of militarism and the stubborn pride of nationalism. Once engaged in a war a country’s militarism will produce fine soldier ready to drop like dominos on the battlefield, while the nationalism works as fuel providing the naive determination to fight the war. This naïve determination and soldier production is why World War One, like every other war, continued with such persistency. But what started World War One? Was it militarism that trained young men since they were kids to become soldiers, nationalism propelling a nations pride forward or was it neither? While both of those aspects could be potential reasons their still not the main pillars of cause. The true reason’s that made World War One inevitable were the intimidating alliances, avaricious imperialism, and tedious tensions.