World War 1 Diplomacy Essay

The stage leading up to the outbreak of World War 1 featured incredibly impactful decisions that would eventually create the beginning of the Modern Era. However, diplomacy leading up to World War 1 created a negative impact on the war in that it was largely based upon a balance of power. Globally, this outdated diplomacy lead to the militarism of all countries involved, thus only heightening the tensions, and leading up to the outbreak of World War 1. By the end of the war, it is evident that many of the countries recognized their mistakes and attempted to find long-term solutions through extensive treaties and international humanitarian efforts. The diplomatic tendencies of many prominent leaders invited war. Their diplomatic efforts consisted of building a larger military, and expanding their military alliances. World War 1 is considered a diplomatic failure due to this perspective. These leaders did not believe diplomacy’s main purpose was to prevent war, or serve as “the business of peace.” This is due to how war was handled after the Napoleonic Era. Furthermore, diplomacy was often times directly

The main powers were allied in the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. The Triple Entente included the Russian Empire, France, the United Kingdom, with Italy, Japan, and the United States joining them later. The Triple Alliance included the Central Powers of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, with the Ottoman Empire joining them later. The immediate cause of the war was the infamous assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. He was killed by Gavrilo Princip, a Yugoslav nationalist, on Jun 28, 1914. Thus, a new diplomatic crisis began with the deliverance of a blank check from Austria-Hungary to Serbia. This marked the beginning of a number of military aggressions, and formation of alliances that was known as World War