World War I: The Most Shared Mistake In International Relations

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The First World War created several new nation-states, crushed empires, and even inspired independence movements in European colonies. The war also involuntarily prepared the United States to become a world power and led to Soviet communism and the rise of Hitler. According to Kant, “the nature state of humans is one of war... and the constant and enduring threat of them” (Kant, Essentials 20). The relevancy of World War 1 to international relations today could seem like a never-ending list to many, but I have a few main takeaways. The First World War represents perhaps the greatest shared mistake in international relations history. The most dominant governments of the day, with the most knowledgeable information and advice, entirely failed to avert what became a general catastrophe for everyone involved. “So that in the nature of man, we find three principal cases of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory.” (Hobbes, Essentials pg. 18) This mistake allows students today to analyze the limits of power, especially to regional hegemonies. The First World War signifies a spectacular case study of ‘security dilemmas’ gone wrong. The pre-1914 arms races contributed to the buildup of war, and as we know today, arms-races continue to be present (although not …show more content…

I would say that nationalism and mutual defense alliances continue to be important causes of conflict in todays world. At present, NATO has 29 members. In 1949, there were 12 founding members of the Alliance. According to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, member states consider an attack against one of them, to be an attack against them all; similar to World War 1. In terms of nationalism, all we have to do is look at the North Korean conflict with the U.S. Both Koreans and Americans alike, have the nationalist pride that they will be victorious if a war were to

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