THE ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR I AN OVERVIEW

War memorials like these are spread throughout New Zealand, even in places where few people live any more. What does this fact suggest about the historical significance of World War I for New Zealand?

BACKGROUND TO THE WAR The term “origins” means explaining how the war came about. Historians commonly divide causes of historical events into long term causes (called “precursors”) and short term causes (called “precipitants”). This topic will examine both long and short term causes.

LONG TERM CAUSES In explaining the outbreak of war in 1914, we need to examine the interplay between a number of historical forces that became evident in the late part of the 19th century. These forces affected relationships between the so-called “Great Powers” of Europe – Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. A convenient starting point is the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71.

SHORT TERM CAUSES These are causes that can trigger off a major event. Short term causes often depend upon the prior existence of long term factors that help explain why people decided to do what they did, or how people reacted to what occurred. In this case, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914 led to a series of decisions and events the led to the outbreak of war. Only by knowing the long term causes can we understand how these decisions and events led to war.

HISTORICAL FORCES The term “historical force” relates to a broad concept that acts as a motivating factor in causing events to occur in history. Forces are often abstract trends that have characteristics common to a range of different historical situations. Forces may operate singly, or several may interact together to help cause an event. One of the Level 2 external Achievement Standards is “Examine how a force or movement in an historical setting influenced people’s lives, in an essay”. This topic provides a number of forces that influence key events during this study. It will be important for you to understand how forces influenced people involved in these key events.

Some important historical forces are . . . Nationalism Imperialism/colonialism Militarism The Alliance system

NATIONALISM “Nationalism” refers to a strong belief in one’s own country as a separate and distinctive nation. In the 19th and 20th centuries, nationalism often appears in two forms: 1. As a desire for political independence by a group that defines itself as a nation, but which is ruled by another nation (see IMPERIALISM). Characteristics of this form of nationalism include an awareness of the unique national identity, impatience with or hostility to the controlling power, a willingness to confront or use violence to achieve national independence. 2. As an assertive form of pride and strength by an already politically independent or united nation, in pursuit of its national objectives. Characteristics of this form of nationalism include a belief in the “specialness” or superiority of one’s own national group in relation to others, an aggressive quest for or defence of the national interest, even at the expense of others’ interests.

IMPERIALISM “Imperialism” refers to a strong belief in the idea or worth of an empire and/or the control of overseas colonies. The desire for an empire may be motivated by: the economic benefits which an imperial power believe will come from imperial control the strategic benefits to an imperial power of controlling another area so that the imperial power’s interests or security might be improved. the acquisition of international prestige associated with the possession of an empire an humanitarian or religious belief, aiming to “improve” the indigenous people by exposure to a “superior” culture or religion

Colonialism “Colonialism” is a form of imperialism that often relates to the acquisition and early control of overseas territories. Characteristics of imperialism include various forms of direct or indirect control of an area by the imperial power, the exploitation of that area for the economic or strategic interests of the imperial power, and often an unwillingness to concede greater self-government to the indigenous people of the empire. The people whom they control may not have much in common with those of the Great Power, and may resent this control, leading to nationalist resentment of imperial control. In this way, IMPERIALISM and NATIONALISM can become historical forces in collision, resulting in significant conflict within an Empire. Also, conflicting imperial ambitions by two or more Great Powers can also be a source of conflict. This was especially the case in the Balkans.

MILITARISM “Militarism” refers to a belief in the importance of military power and efficiency as a national or political priority. Characteristics of militarism include increasing the size of a country’s armed forces, spending an increasing proportion of a nation’s annual budget on military matters, a continual desire for military developments, such as new or updated weaponry, and detailed military planning based on fear of other nations’ perceived military strength.

Militarism is often linked with aggressive nationalism, as military strength gave nations the confidence to assert their national interests if nations believed they conflicted with other nations’ interests or ambitions. Militarism was sometimes a product of the desire to protect or retain control of a nation’s imperial possessions. Militarism was important prior to World War I as the climate of hostility and fear led to greater levels of military growth and spending, leading to an “arms race” between European powers to become more powerful than their perceived enemies.

THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM “The Alliance System” refers to a complex series of political and military agreements aimed at improving nations’ sense of security by acquiring allies who might support them in case of war. Characteristics of alliances are that they often involve formal agreements that specify how and when an alliance might be activated, that they can be defensive in nature (only operating if a nation was attacked), and may involve significant military cooperation and/or planning. Alliances aimed to provide security to deal with nations’ fears about perceived threat from other nations. Alliances were sometimes linked to MILITARISM, in that nations needed to ability to contribute militarily if the terms of an alliance were activated, and allies often cooperated in military planning and manoeuvres

CONCLUSION The irony is that although alliances were supposed to provide security by potential enemies being deterred by the combined strength of a particular alliance, they contributed to insecurity by raising fear and suspicion among nations. Consequently by 1914, Europe was divided into two hostile, armed camps, whose suspicions of each other were fuelled by nationalistic passions and imperial rivalries. The complex interaction of ALL these historical forces was evident in many of the crises prior to 1914, and in the final July Crisis which led to the outbreak of the Great War.