After the First World War, most people and historian believed that the following four points were the long-term cause of the outbreak of the First World War. They are militarism, alliance, imperialism, and nationalism. Although these four reasons have made different levels of analysis and evaluation after the war, I still believe that imperialism was the main reason for the outbreak of the First World War. And this essay will study militarism, alliance, nationalism and will conclude with the main reason that imperialism was the main reason caused the outbreak of the First World War.
Cause One: Militarism & Imperialism
First of all, militarism is one of the main reasons for the outbreak of World War I. Militarism, as its name implies, is an ideology that believes that its national military power is the basis of the security of this country, and that military power is regarded as the most important goal of society, and also an extremist form that tends to Right-Wing Politics; furthermore, the militaristic state will develop its national strength by strengthening its military strength and developing its military industry. In the First World War, the German Empire as an ally was a typical example of a militaristic state. Although militarism played a very important role in the First World War, I don’t think it was the main reason for the outbreak of World War I because only a few countries in the First World War were complete militaristic countries, and most of the participating countries did not think Its national military power is above all else. Although the military strength of each country poses different degrees of threat to its neighbouring countries, and even many countries have participated in the arms race, most countries have not placed their military power first in the country. In other words, the vast majority of belligerents do not constitute (or do not fully constitute) the ideology that militarism should have. Whereas Imperialism is the ideology of most western countries, imperialism, that is a political proposition, mainly because a country has enslaved the territory of other countries and its people through different means such as plunder, aggression, and unequal treaties. As well as the economic and political hegemony established by its people, it is above other countries and plundering its resources. Furthermore, imperialism is an important step in the evolution of capitalism. Obviously, most of the warring states in World War I have colonial experiences, such as the vast overseas colonies that were exchanged for armed aggression, and some countries have territorial disputes before the war, even the main battlefield in World War I. A series of aggression and annexation incidents in the state of Europa, which also laid the groundwork for the World War I. The Moroccan crisis (occurring in Africa) and the Bosnian crisis (July crisis) are two very good examples. They are all because the imperialist countries want to cede or annex them, which has caused the local people to rise or form some resistance organizations and even launch one. The series of resistance movements. Especially in Bosnia, the annexation of Bosnia caused a local student uprising and even a plan to assassinate the Grand Duke of Ferdinand (the Crown Prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), which caused the Sarajevo incident, and this also gave the Austro-Hungarian Empire a very good excuse to declare war on Serbia, which led to the outbreak of the First World War. At the same time, there were also colonial plunders in the overseas colonies of the warring countries. (such as the war between the German Empire and the British Empire colonies in East Africa during the war, and the colonial disputes between the German Empire and the Great Japan Empire. Also the unequal treaties signed by the defeated countries, etc.... )Therefore, in my opinion, the above clearly explained that imperialism was the main cause of the First World War.
Cause Two: Alliances & Imperialism
Secondly, the alliance is also a key factor in launching a war. Nevertheless, the role played by the alliance has advantages and disadvantages. Members of the Allies, Italy, the Great German Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire signed the Treaty of the Three Kingdoms Alliance as early as the end of the 19th century. After the Austrian-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, Italy declared "neutral" under the pretext of the Austrian-Hungarian war on Serbia's declaration of war without consultation with Italy, and even trying to get more benefits from the warring parties on the condition of participating in the war. Later, the Allies fulfilled the requirements of Italy, especially the land that promised to be given to Italy twice as much as the land promised by Germany to Italy, and the United Kingdom also lend a large amount of debt to Italy, so in April 26th, 1914, Italy signed the London Treaty 1915, and on May 1915, Italy declared war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire and officially joined the Allies (which was not righteousness). This is contrary to the Treaty of the Three Kingdoms. In the British Empire on the part of the Allies, the French Empire and the Russian Empire, although they were also allies and signed the relevant treaties in the early twentieth century, the three countries. For example, the French Empire wants to divide German territory to meet its dominance in Europa. For example, the British Empire also wants to have a full voice in the state of Europa, while at the same time not wanting the French Empire to enjoy the absolute hegemony of Europe. The two prime ministers made a fuss at the Paris Peace Conference, and they did not agree with each other's demand. This is enough to prove that the Allies did not play a 100% role in the First World War, and even there was a breach of contract like Italy. Whereas, we cannot deny that the played a very important role in the First World War. For instance, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia because the German Empire gave certain support to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, at the end of the war, the two sides could not attend to each other, and the two countries could only fight against. On the other hand, imperialism played an extremely important role in the First World War. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ottoman Turkish Empire had declined to the brink of extinction. At this time, the Ottoman Turkish Empire in the Balkans had a decreased voice, and the old nature of the "invasion and expansion" of the surrounding imperialist countries also appeared. Out, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is a very good example because the Austro-Hungarian Empire wants To annex the Balkans (part of the Balkans), which led to many local people expressed dissatisfaction, and even after the Sarajevo incident. The reason why the Ottoman Turkish Empire entered the war was also that its gradual decline led the surrounding imperialist powers to list the Ottoman Turkish Empire as a semi-colonial country (and the next target for annexation, especially the Russian Empire), forcing the Ottoman Turkish Empire to participate. A party to the Allies. Therefore, the above is enough to prove that imperialism is the main reason for the outbreak of the First World War, and it is far more harmful than the alliance caused in the First World War.
Cause Three: Nationalism & Imperialism
Thirdly, nationalism was also a very important component of the First World War. Its important significance in the early days of the notorious Sarajevo incident, such as nationalism, led to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, one of the reasons why the Empire was busy with mergers and aggression. There is no difference between the national factors, which eventually led to local youths and even the majority of the people uprising against the movement (mostly unsuccessful) and led to the assassination of the great public Ferdinand. If it were not for the Austro-Hungarian Empire to appear in the old natural "aggression" of the imperialist countries, Bosnia would not be invaded, nor would there be a Sarajevo incident, and nationalism would not be one of the four major reasons for a long time. Even after the First World War, it will not break out. On the other side, imperialism has also caused important events in other ways. For example, the whole world war I was a world war focused on the plunder of resources, aggression, the enslavement of people of other countries, the signing of unequal treaties, the control of other countries' economy, political and legal power. For example, Austria-Hungary invaded the Balkans, or some European country (more than one) wanted to dominate Europe. Most of this is for economic reasons (it is also the reason why we have imperialism during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries). In addition, the German Empire is also a good example. In its national anthem, we can hear a strong sense of the flavour of imperialism in every section of it. Furthermore, by 1870, the industrialized countries of Europe had to expand their markets globally to sell products that could not be sold on the continent. Businessmen and bankers have excess capital to invest, while foreign investment provides an incentive to increase profits, despite the risks. Demand for cheap Labour and steady supplies of raw materials, such as oil, rubber, and manganese for steel, require industrial countries to maintain tight control over these undeveloped areas. Only by direct control of these areas, that is, by the establishment of colonies under their direct control, can the industrial economy function effectively. However, the economic gains of neo-imperialism were limited because the new colonies were too poor to spend money on European goods. And everyone also showed their true colors after the war, they have invaded the territory and plundered resources for the bloody war.
Conclusion:
All in all, militarism, alliances, and nationalism are all long-term causes of the First World War and the main ideology of some participating countries. But I still think that imperialism is the main long-term cause of this war and it is also the main ideology of most participating countries is even the main cause of the great loss of this war. As a result, I strongly believe imperialism was the most important cause of the outbreak of the First World War.