The Origins of World War I

A detailed Summary of The Origins of World War I

The origins of the World War I can be directly traced to the shifting balance of power in Europe, and the rational responses of the major powers in regards to their respective security dilemmas. The end of the 19th century introduced Europe to a power struggle defined by multi-polarity. With the absence of a clear hegemony, or dominant political, economic and military power, Europe was left highly unstable. This instability threatened the security of every European nation, and the popular solution was the establishment of mutual defense agreements. These alliances included Germany siding with ailing Austria-Hungary, while France found an unlikely ally in the rapidly improving Russia. The major powers had now begun a destructive arms race with a future destined for crisis. This pressure of multi-polarity eventually became too great and the states succumbed to the strain of their security dilemmas with mobilization the result.

This essay will first fuse a theoretical and historical account of the Great War and explain that it was the result of Germany's preventative motivation to halt the Russian Empire's invariable rise and bid for hegemony. Germany looked to obtain the hegemonic status bef

When the German speaking people united in 1871, it effectively threatened every other power in Europe as Germany had now gained significant industrial strength. This was particularly troubling to the major powers as Europe was functioning delicately without a hegemony, which France had nearly reached only a few decades before. By 1909 German confidence was increasing and they looked for an opportunity to begin a preventative two-front war against France and Russia. With Russia rebuilding after its war with Japan and France ensconced in national conflicts, Germany looked to defeat both powers "with one big blow." German leaders recognized that with their power at its peak, preventative war was the only option to stop Russia's rapid military augmentation. Russia had made many improvements in its railway systems, its artillery and the number of front-line troops, while reducing its mobilization time. Increased German dominance was evident to all of Europe and its rise destabilized European politics and created the polarizing Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.

World War I could have been avoided. Germany had to take a calculated risk to prevent an ever-increasing Russia from dominating the European scene. Germany was waiting anxiously to implement its Schlieffen Plan and when the moment came, the first shot was fired indirectly by them. That first shot was Austria's mobilization into Serbia which calculatedly drew Russia into German's plans. While Kaiser Wilhelm never wanted a Great War, the structural factors of his inflexible military prevented him from attaining his one-front battle with Russia. Without hegemony in Europe, nervous alliances were created to maintain a balance of power and as structural realists explain, any anarchical situation among states creates a strong drive and search for power in order to be in the advantageous position. Germany searched and found their window for power, with disastrous results.

Germany's moment came when heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, Archduke Ferdinand, was assassinated. Austria saw this moment as opportune time to punish Serbia, whom they detested, but waited on Germany for its support. Kaiser Wilhelm did not disappoint and on July 5, 1914, he pledged Austria's its "faithful support" for whatever punitive action she was planning to take against Serbia. Germany had previously refrained from any involvement with crises in the Balkans when Russia would be forced to intervene because they did not yet have to the capabilities to defeat the Entente in a preventative war. However, with Germany's increased dominance, the Austrian's now had the confidence to punish Serbia. Germany's "blank check" to Austria was made with the knowledge that Russia would undoubtedly have to at least partially mobilize to protect its Serbian allies. If St. Petersburg was the first to mobilize than they could be blamed for the war that Germany so desired and if Russia appeared as the antagonist, allied Britain and France might be more hesitant to get involved. G

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Approximate Word count = 2048
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics