European powers form alliances

By the 1914, Europe had enjoyed a century of relative peace. Idealists hoped for
a permanent end to the scourge of war. International events such as the first
modern Olympic games in 1896 and the first universal peace conference in 1899
were steps toward keeping the peace ”the future belongs to peace "said French
economist Frederic Passy

The alliance system leads to war

The war between Austria and Serbia might have been another “summer war
"like most European wars of the previous century. However the carefully
planned alliances soon drew the drew the great powers into the conflict