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World War I was primarily caused by four things: nationalism, militarism, imperialism, and a complex system of alliances.

Nationalism: The nations of Europe were seeking to expand their power and viewed national interest as more important than global interest. Recently unified nations like Germany and Italy sought to assert their power while other groups like the Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Serbs were hoping to create their own nations.

Militarism: The nationalistic impulses of European nations led to an arms race between the Great Powers (Germany, France, UK, Russia, etc.) Many nations expanded their armies, developed new weapons technologies, and enhanced their naval presences in the world's oceans.

Imperialism: The nations of Europe fought over colonies and competed to assert their influence in new markets. Shortly before WWI the British fought the Dutch in the Boer War for control of South Africa and the French struggled to maintain colonial influence in Morocco.

Alliances: The nations of Europe formed two main blocks. The United Kingdom, France, and Russia were aligned through the Triple Entente. Russia also had a separate alliance with Serbia. Italy, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire were aligned through the Triple Alliance. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed and Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia, these alliances led to widespread declarations of war. Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary for invading its ally Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia and France. Russia and France declared war on Germany and finally the UK declared war.

Additional causes of World War I may include the Crimean War as it effected Russia, the unification of Germany under Otto Von Bismarck, the Franco-Prussian war that led to German annexation of the Alsace-Lorraine, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian empire by Serb nationalists from a group called the Black Hand.

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15y ago

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