The Role of National Interest in World War I

Russia shared worries about the growing power of Germany with Britain and also had a long history of rivalry with Austria-Hungary so joined with Britain and France in the Triple entente. Conclusion ========== In conclusion to my essay, it can be seen throughout that Naval rivalry was not the only cause for the war as all the different events created immense tension, which contributed to WW1. In my opinion Naval rivalry was the strongest point that contributed to the war but I feel that the other points were also very strong and caused anxiety between the six powers. As there was so much tension and so many different points, with so much talk of war and plans for war at that time, I feel that war was in fact inevitable.

The public wanted more battleships for the fear of the Germans rapidly growing navy.' Britain retaliated by launching the huge battleship HMS Dreadnought in 1906 to promote confidence in the British public. Germany '…simultaneously undermined the Royal Navy's long-standing supremacy, inevitably antagonised Britain, and inaugurated a bitter naval arms race…' There was now an increase of ships of the HMS Dreadnoughts class being brought into service. The Kaiser, resolute to have the best navy, ordered an even more prodigious fleet to compete with Britain's mass navy. Meanwhile Republican France was also a... ... middle of paper ... ... result of many events built up over some decades.

As a relatively new country Fisher believed that Germany felt behind with her empire and by invading countries such as France and Poland she would also gain colonies and territory overseas. Fishers' beliefs were very unsettling to the people of his homeland Germany. Most German citizens saw themselves as victims of a harsh treaty and for one of their people to come to the verdict that Germany was to blame for the First World War was looked upon with shock and horror. One of Fritz Fisher's main arguments was that the German government under the Kaiser's reign deemed a War inevitable since 1911 and therefore prepared for War and took the first opportunity to start it. Another belief was that the German government precipitated a growth of the Austrian and Serbia crisis in order to launch what they believed to be a defensive strike against Russia and France.

Germans had found a new form of patriotism that led to a want for power and a new notion of German Superiority. Bismarck succeeded in making Germany a great nation, but did so with an authoritarian rule that led to more and more problems. After Bismarck’s dismissal, William II came into power whose desire for Germany to become a world power was much greater and dangerous. William II managed to grow tensions with the other major European powers that surrounded it, this led to distrust with the nation and an arms race with the Allied Powers. Germany’s fast and growing expansionism led the country to wanting more and more power, these factors combined guided the country to war in 1914.

Germany had known that it was losing so it decided the best way to combat losing the arms race was to declare war. In conclusion, there were many factors involved in the casing of World War One, but there were 3 very influential causes. Nationalism, which was extreme if not borderline insane pride in your country. Alliances that had stirred up countries into thinking they were not safe. being that this was 1914 and countries were still developing and some were weaker than others, it was very likely you could be invaded which is why alliances scared some countries into a hostile state.

World War I was generated through a myriad of incentives, which were genuinely difficult to prevent. Although there were many key factors sparking the Great War, entangling alliances was the mainspring. The entangling alliances were complex and contained many problems amongst them. There were many chaotic issues that occurred between the entangling alliances, which led to World War I forming. The foundation of entangling alliances between 1881 and 1917 directly generated World War I by the increasing rivalries, growing national self-interest, and the drawing of nation’s into conflict.

The arms race between Britainand Germanyappears to be a significant factor to the cause of WW1. Each country tried to out produce the other. From 1906 onwards both Britainand Germanywere producing powerful ships and the European countries knew that they were preparing for a war that was to escalate very soon. Britainwas wondering why Germanywanted such a big navy, unless the Kaiser was planning on attacking the British navy. This produced a lot of mistrust and jealousy between the countries.

There are many reasons why World War One occurred in 1914, many are complex and remain controversial which is why the matter has been disputed to this day by historians all over the world. My theory is that a lot of those reasons and the trigger factor all links to one thing; the alliance system. The alliance system is what made countries oppose each other and become rivals making it the most significant factor. It had an impact on who supported who when Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. This was only the spark that started war in Europe; there were long term causes that contributed to the war and were the origins.

The build up of armies and navies created fear between nations. France feared Germany, Germany feared Russia, Austria-Hungary and Russia rivaled around Bulkans, Britain feared German's expanding navy, Slovakia wanted to free Slavian land from Astria-Hungary's apressi on. Italy was jealous of French and English colonies in Africa. Ottoman Empire struggled to survive in a hostile climate. Germany signed a secret alliance with Austria-Hungray and Italy, thus creating a Triple Alliance.

Germany did, at times have an overbearing influence, and with many factors, the underlying fault lies with Germany. However, influence of other nations, states and individuals were also significant in pulling Europe into World War One. In 1871, following a series of Prussian wars, a new nation of Germany was created which significantly altered the politics of Europe. The new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, determined the direction that this nation took, and it was his attitude that created so much fear of the new state. At times, understandably, they felt threatened and vulnerable.