{"id":708,"date":"2016-06-14T17:23:14","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T17:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=708"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T22:20:23","slug":"long-term-causes-of-world-war-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/long-term-causes-of-world-war-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-Term Causes of World War I: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

World War I<\/a>\u00a0began in June of 1914, and is considered to have five major causes that led to the outbreak of the war.\u00a0 These five causes include the four long-term causes (militarism<\/a>, alliances<\/a>, imperialism<\/a> and nationalism<\/a>) discussed in this reading and\u00a0one short-term cause (the assassination of Franz Ferdinand<\/a>).\u00a0 The four long-term causes each occurred in the years and decades before the actual outbreak of World War I, and all combined to set the stage for war in 1914.\u00a0 Most people think of these as the M.A.I.N. causes of World War I as an easy to remember acronym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

MILITARISM AS A CAUSE OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first long-term cause of World War I is\u00a0militarism. \u00a0Militarism<\/a> can best be understood as the buildup or expansion of the ability of a country\u2019s military to wage war.\u00a0 In the decades before World War I<\/a> many European countries began to\u00a0practice\u00a0militarism and worked to expand and strengthen their\u00a0military forces.\u00a0 For example, there was an intense arms race and naval race between several European nations in the buildup to World War I.\u00a0 Specifically, France<\/a> and Germany<\/a> were heavily involved in an arms race in which each country doubled their armies between 1870 and 1914. \u00a0Both nations had a history of war against each other and their rivalry caused them to expand their military forces. \u00a0At the outbreak of fighting in 1914, France had approximately 4 million soldiers while Germany had over 4.5 million. \u00a0This arms race showed the distrust between the nations of Europe and when war did break out in 1914 it allowed the countries to go to war more easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Militarism
Militarism was one of the M.A.I.N. causes of World War I, alongside alliances, imperialism and nationalism.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the arms race, there was also a competitive\u00a0naval race<\/a> between Britain<\/a> and Germany\u00a0in the years leading up to World War I. \u00a0Britain\u00a0had the largest navy in the world at the time, which it needed to maintain its vast colonial empire. \u00a0Germany viewed the British navy as a threat and sought to develop its own navy to match the powerful\u00a0British\u00a0navy. \u00a0Mostly Germany needed a strong navy to challenge British ships in the North Sea. \u00a0The North Sea was Germany’s only coastal access but was difficult for Germany since the North Sea was connected to Britain and the British navy dominated the area. \u00a0Also related to the naval race was the development of the dreadnought. \u00a0Britain developed and launched the\u00a0dreadnought<\/a>\u00a0in 1906 which was the first battleship to be developed in the 20th century. \u00a0The British dreadnought was notable for having larger\u00a0caliber\u00a0guns and for being faster on open water than\u00a0any other earlier battleships. \u00a0In response, Germany developed its own version of the dreadnought and worked to challenge the power of the British. \u00a0By the outbreak of war in 1914, Britain had 29 dreadnoughts and Germany had 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general, militarism showed the rivalry that existed between the nation of Europe in the years for the outbreak of World War I.  Also, militarism created the large forces that easily allowed the European nations to go to war in 1914.  If they had not built such large armies then the war may not have been so easy to begin and so devastating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dreadnought\"
HMS Dreadnought (Colorized by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

ALLIANCE SYSTEMS BEFORE WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The second long-term cause of World War I was the\u00a0system of alliances<\/a>\u00a0that existed in the years before the outbreak of war in 1914.\u00a0 When World War I began Europe divided between two separate alliance systems.\u00a0 Britain, France and Russia<\/a> made up the\u00a0Triple Entente<\/a>\u00a0while Germany, Austria-Hungary<\/a> and Italy<\/a> made up the\u00a0Triple Alliance<\/a>.\u00a0 Both sets of alliances were created in the years and decades before World War I between the partnering countries.\u00a0 The assassination of Austro-Hungarian\u00a0archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a>\u00a0and the resulting crisis between Serbia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire caused each system of alliances to enact and World War I began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand how the system of alliances led to the start of World War I, we first need to understand the series of events that unfolded after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914.\u00a0 Immediately after the assassination, which was carried out by a Serbian nationalist organization called the Black Hand<\/a>, Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia and began to threaten Serbia.\u00a0 In response, Russia came to the defense of Serbia.\u00a0 Russia did this as part of its larger movement for Pan-Slavism.\u00a0 Pan-Slavism<\/a> was the theory that supported the promotion of all Slavic people of which Russians and Serbians were both.\u00a0 As such, Russia wanted to support the Serbians against Austro-Hungarian aggression because Russia viewed Serbians as sharing a similar ethnic heritage.\u00a0 After Russia came to the defense of Serbia, Germany pledged its support to Austria-Hungary in the form of a ‘blank check’, meaning Germany was offering Austria-Hungary its unlimited support.\u00a0 This act by Germany caused an alliance between Russia and France to take effect and both France and Britain were pulled into the conflict in support of Russia.\u00a0 Italy was then also pulled into the conflict but on the side of the Triple Entente and fought extensively\u00a0against the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the Alp Mountains.\u00a0 Italy didn’t enter the fighting until a year after World War I began, but ultimately entered on the side of the Triple Entente after a period of secret negotiations.\u00a0 What had begun as a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia had expanded to include all of the major powers in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the alliance systems that existed before the start of World War I obligated countries to go to war in defence of their allies.  This obligation is how countries such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy were pulled into the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"world
Map of the European Alliances Before World War I, including the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

IMPERIALISM AS A CAUSE OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The third main cause of World War I was\u00a0European imperialism<\/a>\u00a0that occurred in the 1800\u2019s and early 1900\u2019s before World War I erupted in 1914.\u00a0 Imperialism<\/a> is understood as a process in which a country overtakes another country or region\u2019s political, economic or social life.\u00a0 Imperialism was carried out by the powerful European nations against the rest of world in the decades before World War I began.\u00a0 For example, in the 19th century European nations carried out massive campaigns of imperialism against the regions of Africa in an event known as the\u00a0Scramble for Africa.\u00a0 The Scramble of Africa<\/a> led to the start of World War I because it increased rivalry between the European nations as they fought against each other for territory in Africa and control over different regions.\u00a0 For example, in 1884, German leader Otto von Bismarck<\/a> called the\u00a0Berlin Conference<\/a>\u00a0which had the European powers meet to discuss the division of Africa into regions controlled by the European nations.\u00a0 The purpose of the meeting was to avoid starting a major European conflict and to lessen tensions because the Scramble for Africa was leading to an intense rivalry and distrust between the Europeans powers.\u00a0 The peace created at the Berlin Conference did not last as the rivalry between the European powers increased as they approached 1914.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Berlin
Drawing of the participants in the Berlin conference in 1884.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For instance, Britain and France were the two Europeans nations that had control over the largest regions of Africa during the Scramble for Africa and this caused tension with Germany.\u00a0 Germany was angry that it lacked the colonies in Africa that both Britain and France had and resented their general role in Africa.\u00a0 This anger by Germany would lead to the two Moroccan Crises that occurred before World War I.\u00a0 Both crises occurred in the ten years before the outbreak of World War I and both involved France trying to gain control over Morocco while Germany worked to prevent France.\u00a0 For example, the Second Moroccan Crisis<\/a>, which occurred in 1911, began when Germany sent its warship (Panther) to Agadir, Morocco in July of that year.\u00a0 The incident enraged the French who were considered to have a major interest in the region and both countries began threatening each other and talking of war.\u00a0 While the two sides would eventually end the crisis through negotiations it still showed the level of rivalry and tensions that imperialism in Africa caused among the European nations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, these tensions led to a sense of anger and distrust among the European powers that helped to set the stage for war in 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scramble
Map of the Scramble for Africa. (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

NATIONALISM AS A CAUSE OF WORLD WAR I<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fourth and final long-term cause of World War I was the\u00a0growth of nationalism<\/a>\u00a0that occurred in Europe in the decades before World War I and the tensions it caused.\u00a0 Nationalism is best understood as when a group of people identify with each other and display a loyalty to their nation or country.\u00a0 Nationalism grows when people share similar beliefs, values, ethnic heritage, relationship to land, language, culture and customs.\u00a0 For example, both Germany<\/a> and Italy<\/a> unified from many separated kingdom states into unified nation-states in the late 1800\u2019s.\u00a0 These separate kingdoms unified as the people in those regions began to identify with each other and as nationalism swept across the people of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nationalism was a major cause of World War I because it caused tensions and unrest to grow in certain parts of Europe.  For example, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was not made up of one single nation, but rather consisted of many different groups.  Many of these groups sought to have control over themselves and wanted sovereignty from the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  This created a great deal of unrest in the empire.  This was especially apparent in the Balkans, which is a region in Southeast Europe that contains many different nation-states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years before World War I, the Balkans was under intense nationalistic tensions.\u00a0 This was primarily due to the rise of nationalism in Europe and the influence of Austria-Hungary in the region.\u00a0 The Austro-Hungary Empire extended into the Balkans on its southern borders and in the years before World War I it attempted to extend its control over the region.\u00a0 Many historians now refer to the nationalistic tensions that were created in the region as a ‘powder keg<\/a>‘, meaning that the tensions were so extreme that they were like a bomb ready to explode at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Balkan
Cartoon showing the European leaders of the time struggling to stop the Balkan tensions from ‘boiling over’.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the assassination of Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand<\/a> in June of 1914 was the ‘spark’ that lit the match of the Balkans Powder Keg and plunged Europe into World War I.\u00a0 Nationalism as a movement in Europe in the years before World War I, created the tensions necessary for a small event like the assassination of Franz Ferdinand to explode into the worldwide conflict that it became.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Assassination
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand artwork by Achille Beltrame from an Italian newspaper. It shows Gavrilo Princip killing Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. (1914)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

CAUSES OF WORLD WAR I – INFOGRAPHIC<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Causes
Causes of World War I – Infographic (Created by historycrunch.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There were four long-term causes of World War I, which historians often refer to as the M.A.I.N. causes of the war. These included: Militarism, alliance systems, imperialism and nationalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":28,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[15,20],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-war-i","tag-history","tag-world-war-i"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10288,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/10288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}