Ww1 Causes

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World War I was one of the most catastrophic and cruel war in human history. It started in July 1914 and ended in November, 1918 with over 17 million people killed.
There were estimated 17 million killed and over 20 million wounded. Nevertheless, behind the unforgettable numbers, the causes of the war was complicated and has left debate for a century. Combining the lectures, the reading Europe’s Last Summer and various resources, I gained more insight about this historical event and reach to the point that World War I was derived from the anarchy of the international system and the imbalance of power. According to David Fromkin, “Europe's main business had become the business of preparing to fight a war.” In the early twentieth century, …show more content…

A nation feels peaceful when all nations hold equal power; a nation feels safe when it hold the most power among nations. This led German to madly expand its arms race at the early 20th century. At that stage, German considered itself weaker than other nations and wished to stay safe by getting more power. However, the belief could be thoroughly wrong. A strong nation may gain supreme priority, respect and dominance in negotiations, but it could as well cause guard and attack. It caused the “security dilemma” that once a nation increased its force, all nations intended to raise force to keep safe. As Fromkin mentioned in the reading, German was actually very strong at that time and its madness feared other nations in …show more content…

Imperialism refers to the point that a country strive to steady their power, status and wealth by occupying my territories. In early 20th century, the abundant materials and unexploited opportunities in Africa and Asia caught great attention among European countries. The desire to invade and dominate the area led several European countries to compete and grew their power, which also pushed forward the warfare. Imperialism was also a significant aspect of the balance of power theory. The chase of power harshly broke the peace and balance of Europe in the early 20th century. The imperialism could be another cause of the First World