iii. WW1: Causes

UPSC Full Course [English]

About Lesson

[Image:Major factors leading to World war I]

Mutual Defense Alliances	Countries throughout the world have always made mutual defense agreements with their neighbours, treaties that could pull them into battle. These treaties meant that if one country was attacked, the allied countries were bound to defend them Hence, as a result of these agreements, many passively affected countries were pulled into the war
Imperialism	Before World War I, several European countries had made competing imperialistic claims in Africa and parts of Asia, making them points of contention. Because of the raw materials these areas could provide, tensions around which country had the right to exploit these areas ran high. The increasing competition and desire for greater empires led to an increase in confrontation that helped push the world into World War I.
Nationalism	Much of the origin of the war was based on the desire of the Slavic peoples in Bosnia and Herzegovina to no longer be part of Austria-Hungary, but instead be part of Serbia This specific essentially nationalistic and ethnic revolt led directly to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, which was the event that tipped the scales to war But more generally, nationalism in many of the countries throughout Europe contributed not only to the beginning but to the extension of the war across Europe and into Asia