World War I: Why Nations Fight?

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Why Nations Fight
Wars have been fought for thousands of years, and they continue to happen today. Just about everyone can agree that war is tragic and that nations should do everything they can do to avoid war. But what we cannot agree on is why nations fight. Some would argue that geography, economics or taking another country’s geographical resources are the motives. However, nationalism needs to be considered as the root cause for many, if not all, conflicts between countries. Nationalism is defined as the “extreme form of patriotism and loyalty to one’s country. Nationalists place the interests of their own country above the interests of other countries” (Llewellyn). Although the motivations of warring countries are complex, it is clearly …show more content…

As was the case in the late 1800’s in Europe, the beginning of the 1900’s marked an intensified sense of nationalism in many European nations. According to an article appearing on the alphahistory.com website, “some European countries had almost become drunk with patriotism and nationalism” (Llewellyn, Southey, Thompson). This greatly contributed to the start of World War I. Russia, Germany and Great Britain all thought that they were unstoppable, which led to to reckless behavior, especially from Germany. Germany was looking for a conflict in which they could expand their power as a nation, so they used the conflict between Serbia and Austria as an excuse to get involved in a war whereby they could invade other countries. The governments of the warring nations knew that the consequences of war were great. In order to get their citizens on board, they deliberately attempted to increase the already solid sense of …show more content…

The idea is that most conflicts happen because of one country's desire to expand its territory. In the example of WWII, Hitler (in Germany) and the soviet dictator, Stalin (in Russia) made an agreement that Poland would be split between the two countries. At first glance, it appears that Hitler and Stalin just wanted to occupy Poland for geographical purposes. According to britannica.com, however, “Hitler’s underlying plan was to eliminate thousands of Jews and other suspected enemies. This was done by arresting them, deposing them, and in the end, executing them”

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