Nationalism and the origins of The first world war Essay Example for Free

patriotism and the origins of The first beingness state of war EssayWhen world-wide war broke out in 1914 dreams of initiation peace and prosperity were shattered. Accordingly, the starting beingness War was arguably unitary of the most traumatic instalments in the history of international affairs. Geo semipolitically speaking, the maiden mankind War (also described as WWI in this essay) was unprecedented in both scale and real loss of human life. Never before had the world witnessed such spileacre and violence perpetuated through the use of modern technology.The First human beings War touched much of the world and the implications of this interlocking reverberated across the globe. Seeking to understand the diachronic commentarys as well as the role that nationalism played in the outbreak of the First World War, this essay give explore the multiple causes of the ripening of global hostilities in 1914. Using a three pronged analytical model, the causes of t he WWI will be discusses with savoir-faire to the pre-conditions and precipitants for bout and the triggers which sparked the war.Understanding that WWI was an international event with global repercussions, we will analyze the various antecedents for the takings of arm conflict through a multi-causal approach. This essay will argue that a variety of factors led to the outbreak of the First World War and while at that place is not whizz single causal explanation for the emergence of global conflict in 1914, a proper explanation of the origins of this conflict takes into account the fusion of each of these factors. while nationalism was an important factor leading to the outbreak of international conflict amidst the warring parties, this essay will argue that in fact, nationalism was an important predecessors to the emergence of conflict moreover the sole and deciding force in the violence which erupted on the shores of europium and reverberated across the planet. Although t he First World War has recently been overshadowed in the aftermath of the WWII, this conflict was the first in terms of scale and sheer destruction and thus continues to be worthy of scholarly analysis. nationalism in International AffairsNationalism is an important force in international relations and has been so for centuries. As a basic rule of the international order, concepts of state sovereignty are intrinsic to our understanding of the world system. Accordingly, the international system is predicated upon the public of nation-states and nationalism is a belief or sense of identity within the nation. The Treaty of Westphalia established the linguistic rule of state sovereignty, another fundamental principle of the international order which established the nation-state as an autonomous political entity.Similar to tribalism or a sense of social kinship, nationalism as a potent political force began in Europe in the late eightieth ascorbic acid and was connected with a winn ow out in overall religiosity, the development of industrialization, Enlightenment thoughts and a concerted effort by political elites to build up states. By inculcating a sense of nationalistic fervor in the citizens of their respective countries, elites take hold been able to command nationalism for political purposes. citizenry mobilization towards a variety of specific causes through an appeal to nationalist sentiment has been used as a political tool for centuries.Although not exclusively a shun force, nationalism remains an important ordering principle of the international system and a force to be reckoned with (Anderson 2006). Preconditions to the Outbreak of Conflict There were a variety of preconditions to the emergence of the conflict, which up until that date, had been the largest that the world had ever seen. The First World War represented the dueling alliances of the Triple Entente composed of Britain, France and Russia and the Triple Alliance comprised of Ger some(prenominal), Austria-Hungary and Italy.Pre-conditions are topper described as the precursors to conflict and there were umpteen underlying long-term causes for the belligerent behaviour of the states of Europe in 1914. An arms expedite, underway for years, and growing at a rapid pace just prior to the emergence of the First World War set the stage for violent conflict between the major(ip) states of the region. Accordingly, the arms race occurring at the time exacerbated the global balance of power and led to an increased likelihood of aggressive behavior between the armies of Europe.As the European armies grew and competed with one another for size, manpower and prestige, the naval race between German and Britain contri anded to a partition of the major states of the continent into two opposing camps. Competition was for sure facilitated by nationalist tendencies and a desire to counterbalance the political, diplomatic and military ambitions of ones rival. In addition to international arms races, domestic pressures and a willingness of the part of the citizens of some countries to engage in war helped precipitate the conflict.Accordingly, the diplomatic isolation of Germany, Austro-Hungary was another important contributor to the outbreak of global war in 1914. German nationalism, largely ignored in the settlement of the Congress of Vienna almost one coulomb years before, did experience a resurgence particularly after the imposition of what was then conceived by many to be an unfair Treaty in Vienna and gained prominence in the middle to late ordinal century and early twentieth century.Accordingly, a German nationalism movement led a change to unify the country in 1871 a similar movement in Italy served to unite that country in 1861 and remained an important, although not solely important, force in attempting to explain the preconditions of conflict in 1914 (Joll and Martel 1992). In addition to the pre-conditions above, a series of crises from 1904-1914 also helped pave the way for the emergence of the First World War and were important pre-cursors to this conflict. The First Moroccan Crisis from 1905-1906 resulted in a German offensive which created the Entente.This was followed by the Bosnia-Herzegovina Crisis of 1908/1909 in which Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina. This important precursor to future conflict forced Russia to reevaluate its geopolitical situation and in turn view Germany and Austro-Hungary as a potential threat. The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911-1912) united Russia, Britain and France against Germany and was an important stabilizer for the Triple Entente on the loose(p) alliance. The final conflicts which were important pre-conditions to the outbreak of violence in 1914 were the Balkan Wars 1912-13.These series of wars removed the Ottoman empire from the comparison and led to an impressive German arms build-up (Strachan 2001 Joll and Martel 1992). On the Cusp of War Precipitants to C onflict Precipitants are short-term crises that do the war seem inevitable and a series of crises, beginning with the assassination in Sarajevo of Franz-Ferdinand, Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, made large-scale war in Europe seem like an inevitability. In fact, the months of late June/early July were profuse with crises beginning with the violent assassination in Serbia of the Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.Assassinated on Serbias national day by a violent terrorist organization, the Black Hand, this event alone is described by many observers of the First World War as perhaps the most monumental precipitant to the outbreak of hostilities between the major powers of Europe. hobby his violent death at the hands of a Serbian nationalist, Germany unilaterally supported the right of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to respond as it saw fit. This led to successive increases in belligerence on both sides and an ultimatum by Austria-Hungary to Serbia (Strachan 2001 Joll an d Martel 1992). Triggers and the Outbreak of WarThere are a variety of direct antecedents to the War of 1914 and the following will describe the important triggers for the worlds largest military mobilization to-date in the aftermath of the assassination of Franz-Ferdinand, Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. While there is not one single event which explains the emergence of large-scale conflict, the following will map the important triggers which led to the internationalization of conflict and the explosion of a truly global war. Serbias rejection of the ultimatum honk forth by the Austro-Hungarian represented a desire on its part to safeguard its independence.By rejecting the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum and desire Russian support, the Serbian republic unwittingly set the stage for the bloodiest war the world had ever known. Serbian intransigence and refusal to acquiesce to the demands of Austria-Hungary set the stage for Russian matter which internationalized the conflict and significantly increased its backcloth. At the time, the Russian army was the largest army on the planet and the inclusion of Russia into the dispute significantly increased its scope and explosive potential.Following the introduction of Russia into the equation, the first four days of August 1914 proved to significantly refine the horizons of the conflict. During those first few days of the month, Germany declared war on Russia and its ally France, leading to the mobilization of Britain and the merely internationalization of belligerence. Germanys decision to declare war on Russia and the Entente powers represented an important magnification of the conflict on the side of the Triple Alliance and set the stage for the mobilization and later involvement of Britain in the brewing hostilities (Strachan 2001 Joll and Martel 1992).Origins of the Mass War and Nationalism At the outbreak of World War One, states mobilized what scholars have described as mass wars the uniquely moder n phenomenon of warfare developed in the twentieth century which required the wholesale diversion of economies, labour and national productivity towards the war effort (44). Accordingly, from 1914 on, wars were unmistakably mass warssuch a level of mass mobilization cannot be maintained except by a modern high-productivity industrialized economy. (Hobsbawm 1994).State apparatuses grew and mass wars required governments to mobilize people, resources, and armaments to serve the war effort. Citizens were conscripted to fight, industry was instructed to take a shit arms, and the government became intimately involved in the establishment of monopolistic war economies. Although nationalism did play a role in the establishment of war economies and the growth of military-industrial complexes built up to support the war effort, many factors account for call to arms and the descent into extreme bloodshed and violence during the First World War.Mass mobilization towards the war effort was ce rtainly helped by nationalist fervor as the belligerent parties wide-awake for conflict which until then would have been on an unimaginable scale, but as has been shown above, nationalism is just one part of the equation in attempting to explain the origins of the First World War (Hobsbawm 1994). Concluding Remarks As one of the most traumatic episodes in the history of the world, the First World War represented geopolitical conflict on an unprecedented scale.Never before had the world witnessed such carnage, bloodshed and violence. Seeking to understand the historical explanations and discuss the role that nationalism has played in the outbreak of the First World War, this essay has explored the antecedents for conflict in 1914. Important preconditions, precipitants and triggers have accounted for the emergence of this conflict. Nationalism, although an important factor which can help explain the emergence of World War One, is actually only one aspect of the overall conditions whi ch lay the groundwork for World War One.Nationalism may be a guiding principle of the international order but a focus which exclusively explores the role of nationalism in the causes of war gives an incomplete picture of this global conflict. While nationalism may have been a force in the establishment of alliances in Europe, there were a handful of other preconditions, precipitants and triggers which led to this conflict. As this essay has shown, many factors led to the violent episode now known as the Second World War and while each factor differed in substance, each contributed to the emergence of the War to End All Wars.REFERENCES Anderson, B. 2006. Imagined Communities. New York Verso. Hobsbawm, E. 1994. Age of Extremes The Short autobiography of the ordinal Century 1914-1991. London Abacus. James Joll, J. and G. Martel. 1992. The Origins of the First World War. New York Longman. McEvedy, C. 2003. The New Penguin Atlas of History. New York Penguin. Strachan, H. 2001. The Oxfo rd Illustrated History of the First World War. London Oxford University Press.