The Origins of World War I
The origins of the World War I can be directly traced to the shifting balance of power in Europe, and the rational responses of the major powers in regards to their respective security dilemmas. The end of the 19th century introduced Europe to a power struggle defined by multi-polarity. With the absence of a clear hegemony, or dominant political, economic and military power, Europe was left highly unstable. This instability threatened the security of every European nation, and the popular solution was the establishment of mutual defense agreements. These alliances included Germany siding with ailing Austria-Hungary, while France found an unlikely ally in the rapidly improving Russia. The major powers had now begun a destructive arms race with a future destined for crisis. This pressure of multi-polarity eventually became too great and the states succumbed to the strain of their security dilemmas with mobilization the result. This essay will first fuse a theoretical and historical account of the Great War and explain that it was the result of Germany's preventative motivation to halt the Russian Empire's invariable rise and bid for hegemony. Germany looked to obtain the hegemonic status bef
An illustration of this would be Germany's increased spending on its navy due to its increase in industrialization. These alliances tied the hands of the ruling emperors and generals to their respective countries and when one bloc would appear advantaged in power, the other would make a counter-signal of deterrence which led to the eventual and inevitable escalation. For the Alliance, while Austria-Hungary had a large population to call upon and an adequate economy, they were in relative decline and Germany looked only to themselves for victory. The British Empire was protected by the Royal Navy, the most powerful naval fleet in Europe; however by 1914 they were no longer a dominant economic power and disallowing Germany to gain supremacy over the European states was paramount. These plans were focused around the hypothesis that the country who could strike first was in an advantageous position. Nationalism and the economic state of Europe exacerbated the negative sentiments and conflict among the European countries. Berlin had been preparing for this day and looked to implement the Schlieffen Plan which called for a quick invasion and defeat of France before the slower mobilizing Russia could aid their allies. However, his objective was different from Germany's and Austria-Hungary. World War I could have been avoided. " German leaders recognized that with their power at its peak, preventative war was the only option to stop Russia's rapid military augmentation. As Germany gained power, this created a security dilemma for the other great powers. Without hegemony in Europe, nervous alliances were created to maintain a balance of power and as structural realists explain, any anarchical situation among states creates a strong drive and search for power in order to be in the advantageous position. This illuminates the early 1900s leading up to the Great War. Sazonov hoped swift Russian action would discourage Austria from attacking Serbia at all. " The emotional price of the Schlieffen Plan was undoubtedly too great to give up for Moltke.
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Acceptance Essays
