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Causes WWI went back long before 1914. Europe was ripe, even eager, for war → only needed a tiny SPARK.
1. MILITARISM(= Arms race + belief war = valid foreign policy. Ger & A-H esp. militaristic.)
• Ger: 2.2m soldiers, 97 warships + 8.5m reservists
• A-H: 810k soldiers, 28 warships + 3m reservists
• Italy: 750k soldiers, 36 warships
• Fr: 1,125k soldiers, 62 warships + 3.5m reservists
• Russ: 1.2m soldiers, 30 warships + 4.4m reservists
• GB: 711k soldiers, 185 warships
Each nation built up forces to keep ‘BALANCE of power’. Ger feared Rus growth → war now better than later.
Ger-GB Naval Clash:
• 1900: Kaiser’s Navy Law → aim for global influence (‘place in the SUN’).
• 1906+: Ger built ‘DREADNOUGHT’ battleships → naval arms race w. GB.
• Effects:
◦ GB feared Ger threat to naval dominance & colonies.
◦ GB allied w. Japan (1902)
◦ GB built more Dreadnoughts (public demanded: ‘We want EIGHT & we won’t wait’).
◦ (1914: GB navy > Ger navy ∴ not a direct cause of WWI.)
2. Alliances(= Protection by treaties.)
Triple Alliance (Central Powers)
• 1879: Ger-A-H Dual Alliance
• 1882: Italy joined → TRIPLE ALLIANCE
Triple Entente
• 1894: Fr-Russ alliance
• 1904: Fr-GB ENTENTE CORDIALE (not formal alliance)
• 1907: GB-Russ Entente → Triple Entente
• 1902: GB-Japan naval treaty
Triple Entente → Ger felt surrounded.
Alliances meant war between 2 countries → dragged others in.
3. Nationalism
(= Bellicose Patriotism)
• People loved their nations → sang nationalist songs (eg ‘RULE BRITANNIA’, ‘Deutschland über alles’).
• Fr (Clemenceau, Poincaré) HATED Ger (memories of 1870).
• Balkan Nationalism → Balkan instability
◦ Many under foreign rule (eg. Romanians, Bulgarians, Serbs).
◦ Desire for self-rule → ‘PANSLAVISM’ → esp. Serbs wanted to unite all Slavs.
◦ Serbia indep. (1878) but many Serbs still under A-H & Turkey → led to rebellions & terrorism.
4. Imperialism
• Belief superior nations = right to conquer others.
• GB, Fr, Bel, Italy colonised Africa.
• GB wanted ‘Cape to CAIRO’ empire, Fr wanted W–E empire → nearly fought (Fashoda, 1898).
• Ger wanted colonies too → tension.
5. Poor Govts
• Many government AUTOCRATIC (1 ruler, not democratic).
• Stupid, corrupt leaders.
• Democracies = harder to go to war, but most of Europe ≠ democratic.
• No idea of ‘just war’ → rulers went to war for power & land.
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