Causes of World War I

In the years before World War I, social and political developments, including

shifting powers, contributed to the escalation of tensions that resulted in global conflict. European nations, expanding their empires, competed for raw material resources in Africa and Asia. A series of mutual alliances created entanglements that committed nations to defense systems that would draw them into war. Arms races involving Germany, Great Britain, and Russia gave military establishments great influence.

The immediate cause of the war’s outbreak had its roots in yet another cause of conflict—a rising wave of nationalism. As Bismarck predicted, this clash erupted in the Balkans when Serbian nationalists, protesting Austria- Hungary’s control over the territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina, assassinated Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Thus World War I began.