World War 1 Research Paper

Serbian Nationalism and the First World War Nationalism is a patriotic feeling, common to a whole nation. Historians tend to blame the actions that lead to the Great War on the nationalism of the nations in Europe, which lead to international tensions. It made countries feel superior and also gave them the desire for political independence. In the Balkans, it was Serbian nationalism that was significant to the outbreak of the war. (“Nationalism”) Traditionally the Balkans had been dominated by the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whom were each other’s rivals, and was inhabited by different ethnic groups known as Slavs.

This belief created many groups one being the ‘Black Hand’. The nationalism seen in the Slavic people was a negative force in unifying people. “These groups hoped to drive Austria-Hungary from the Balkans and establish a ‘Greater Serbia’, a unified state for all Slavic people. It was this pan-Slavic nationalism that inspired the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in June 1914.” (@Alphahistory Paragraph 8) “An aggressive, often hysterical Serb nationalism was certainly a major ingredient in the breakdown of relations, since Austria-Hungary (as it was called after 1867) ” (Armour Paragraph 1). Here, the reader can see that Serb nationalism also known as Pan-Slavism was surely a negative force in unifying people.

This feeling radiates though the leadership of the country and can be a causing factor of hostilities between nations. This on its own could not create a war as large as ww1, simply the world was set and staged for war and at the core nationalism was degrading the foundations of peace. Militarism, a competition between countries as to who has the largest military was a large factor in the scale of the war and the lives lost. Years prior to the war there was a steady growth in the military strength of all European nations especially those who were involved in ww1 and neighboring one another. As combinations of militarism and nationalism creates a deadly tinder pile ready for a spark.

World War 1 was an atrocious war that caused millions of deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in reparations. World War 1 lasted from 1914 to 1919 and rudimentarily, was the fight between the Allied powers and the Central powers. The Allied powers consisted of France, Great Britain, Russia, and Belgium while the Central powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. All countries had some participation and damage done throughout World War 1, and the countries who started the war may be obscure. However, there are some countries that can especially be picked out for their contribution and cause for the war.

While the United States proclaimed itself as a neutral country in the beginning of the devastating first World War, many disagree with the statement that America wanted to remain neutral for various reasons. World War I began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, then quickly escalated to division into two sides between European countries; including the Allied Powers, which consisted of Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the Central Powers that included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Since the United States made it obvious they favored the Allied Powers before they entered World War I, the other countries against these nations took this friendliness between the countries and America as a threat and interference of war. This resulted in the Central Powers noticing an unfair disadvantage for themselves. If the U.S. was truly neutral, they would not have interfered in war with the accomodations relating to their connections with Britain.

The War of 1812 was part of a larger conflict that stemmed between England and France. From 1789-1815 England and France were locked in a constant power struggle for global superiority. America joined the conflict for a few reasons, many felt that the British had not yet come to honor the United States as an authorized country. So gaining the respect and territory from its old rulers was important to America. Along with pride and territory, British impressment of American sailors was another issue the Americans needed to deal with.

The loss of power experienced by Serbia endowed Serbian nationalism with an increasingly aggressive character. Essentially, ethnic nationalism is very much the protagonist of this war. When analyzed from a state level, the war in Yugoslavia is the by-product of the effect of negative integration caused by ethnic nationalism. Ethnic nationalism is defined as “: A form of nationalism that emphasizes the organic and usually ethnic unity of the nation and aims to protect or strengthen its national ‘spirit’ and cultural sameness.” This variant of nationalism is deeply engraved in the ethnic unity of a people; its homogenizing and supremacist character ultimately breeds a xenophobic attitude. Nonetheless, Serbia was not the only country to experience a surge in this type of nationalism.

Serbia wanted to take over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia and all the events, that i already wrote about in the previous paragraph. In the conclusion, i can say that, World War I was the result of many factors and reasons, but mostly it was foolishness and shortsightedness of the country leaders of the time, that made the war happen. In 1889 Otto von Bismarck talked abut Europe in the future and said that it would be: ‘The nightmare of coalitions’ and hid predictions came true. Essay N.2 Source

These alliances have led to the development of military plans in 1905, General von Schlieffen proposed a plan that involved a quick attack on France to later send all troops to the Russian front. The Russian army had however planned a quick invasion of Austria-Hungary, and were prepared to attack in case of a war. The only nation that was outside of these alliances was Britain. However, the naval rivalry of Germany, which was threatening Russia, France and Britain urged the British government to come out of its isolation. The Entente Cordiale, signed between France and Britain in 1904 allowed the two countries to settle colonial disputes in Africa and Asia.

This was partly the reason why Britain, against all odds found herself signing Ententes with France and Russia, the very powers that she had been feeling threatened by. The Entente cordiale, signed in 1904, allowed Britain and France to come to an agreement about Egypt, a matter that had had the two powers on the brink of war in 1898 but was now settled with France recognizing British control over it. In return, Britain let France have the control over Morocco, and both countries agreed to have their own spheres of influence in Siam. In spite of being provoked by Germany in the form of the two Moroccan crises of