Introduction

As students of International Relations, it is very important for us to learn about how the
conditions of a state were in the past, as well as the international system in the past to understand
about a certain policy that they use and why a certain behaviour that they had during that time.
By learning history, we also can determine the main factors of a certain event that occurred in the
past or at the present. For example, the topic that we are going to discuss is about World War I
which happened in 1914. But, what are the causes? How did it happen? Why and why we should
learn about an event that occurred a hundred years ago.

The first one is to understand the topic. By learning a specific history, we could know that an
event won’t just happen without any trigger. To establish a certain history or a past event, we
need historical methods to understand. Wars, especially the World War connected several states
that were joining, this means that World War connected several links that may help us to do our
research, for example, why was Germany declared war along with Austro-Hungarian? Well,
that's because they were allies. That’s the small link that connected both states. International
Relation students also need to look for links in the international system to predict a state’s next
step or what they will do if a certain state is going to change their policy or economic treaties,
etc. We also use history to use it as a guide for the present so that the same catastrophic events
happen twice (RELATIONS, 2021).

The World War I happened in the year 1914 and made a major change in the Europe History as
there weren’t major conflict since the Congress of Vienna and the Concert of Europe as after the
Westphalian Treaties, the major European states decided to stop war and just talk about
everything between states so that there’s no misunderstanding between states that could cause
major war. But, in 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered in Sarajevo by a Serbian
assassin. But, is that all? Is it just because a head of state got murdered then a war happened? Or
is there another factor that causes the war that changes not only the European states but overall
the World (GRIECO, IKENBERRY, & MASTANDUNO, 2015)
The Causes of World War 1
These are the causes that made World War 1 happened, the first cause is the European
imperialist expansion. This event can be seen as one of the causes because countries such as
France and Britain kept expanding their empires, which created a tension between the European
countries. The tension that was created can result many colonies that is being acquired by
coercion and once the nation is conquered and governed by the imperial nation, many of the
nations are being exploited by the mother countries and caused many dissatisfactions from the
conquered nation. As the expansion continued from the British and French, the tension between
other empires also kept growing.

Next, it was cause from the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. He was assassinated on June 28,
1914. He was assassinated when he traveled to Sarajevo for the inspection of the imperial armed
forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ferdinand was traveling with an open car, which Princip fired
into the car and assassinated both, Ferdinand and his wife. The assassination was directed as a
protest to Austria-Hungary for having control of the region that Serbia originally wanted to take
over. After that, Austria-Hungary send an ultimatum to Serbia, where they rejected the
ultimatum and it led to Austria-Hungary to declare war against Serbia. Austria-Hungary had an
alliance with Germanys, meanwhile Russia came to do an alliance with Serbia, which initiated
the First World War.

The third cause are Nationalism, nationalism throughout many countries in Europe contribute the
extension of the war across the whole European continent and also Asia. This caused each
country to keep trying to prove their dominancy and power in the world, but nevertheless this
just made the war even more complicated and extended. The fourth cause are the militarism,
Germanys military had almost 100 warships and million of soldiers, which made other nation to
start increasing their navies and particulary in Germany and Russia the military establishment
also began to have a big influence on public policy. The big increase in militarism really pushed
the countries involving into war.

The fifth cause is the matter of conflicts between each alliance. The alliances had promised to
give their support to each other if a war had broken out between an ally or another great power.
The tensions between alliances kept rising and some of the pre-existing alliances decided to
declare a war between one another. This conflict made the nations to defense one another and it
made two sides of alliances, The Allied Power and The Central Power. The sixth cause the blank
check incident, that was conspired by Germany and Austria-Hungary. Where Germany gave
their full support to Austria-Hungary for whatever action they chose to punish Serbia. But the
hidden motive of this check was the sought for a political win and securing the Balkan areas.

How World War 1 happened

Fierce competition among European powers marked the late 1800s and early 1900s. The strength
of a nation is measured by the scope of its wealth and resources, the amount of land it owns, and
the size of its army and navy. The leaders of many countries believe that a nation can only
achieve its political and economic goals if it has a strong military, a belief known as militarism.
. Conscripted soldiers grew up in most countries, where young men were required to undergo a
year or two of military training and then sent home as reservists to be mobilized or called to
action when necessary to fight. Naval budgets increase every year, especially in the United
Kingdom and Germany. No country wants to be without an ally if war breaks out, so two major
military alliances survive. Germany, fearing being besieged by enemies in its east and west,
signed a treaty with Austria-Hungary to support each other in the European war. Russia and
France reached a similar agreement. The military increasingly views their country’s military
above criticism, and they admire military values such as self-sacrifice, discipline, and
obedience.
At that time war was seen as an adventurer and bet lives for a country. According to British
writer Karl Pearson, war is needed. To maintain his country's position in the world "by means of
the highest and lowest race wars, and with equal races struggle for trade routes and for
resources" food. At that very moment Count Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, the chancellor
of Germany argued that "a weak country will be a strong prey for the country that is stronger,
and it will make it stronger. down 2nd in the world." According to Peason &Hollweg and
other Europeans, for them the nation is not enough to share the same culture, history, and
language, but the common ancestors, characteristics. In other words, a nation is believed to be
similar to the Napa we know today, namely race. In the early 1910s Europe was referred to as
a barrel of gunpowder, because the country wanted a war to show that the country dial ah the
most powerful among the countries. another country. They already have a growing military
and have already created military alliances to support partner countries in the event of war.

The spark that set off World War I came on June 28, 1914, when a young Serbian patriot shot
Franz Ferdinand, Grand Duke of Austria-Hungary. His death at the hands of Gavrilo Princip – a
Serbian nationalist with ties to a secret military group known as the Black Hand – pushed
Europe's main military power towards war. The events leading up to the assassination were
significantly more complicated, but most historians agreed that the gradual emergence of
alliances between the major powers was partly the cause of the war. In 1914, the alliance
produced six major European powers that merged into two major groups: Britain, France, and
Russia formed the Triple Entente, while Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple
Alliance. When these countries helped each other after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand,
their declaration of war produced a domino effect. There are several factors of the emergence of
World War 1:

 June 28, 1914 - Gavrilo Princip assassinates Franz Ferdinand.

 July 28, 1914 - Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
 August 2, 1914 - The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and Germany sign a secret alliance
agreement.
 August 3, 1914 - Germany declares war on France.
 August 4, 1914 - Germany invades Belgium, making Britain declare war on Germany.
 August 10, 1914 - Austria-Hungary invades Russia.

As the war progressed, further acts of aggression drew other countries, including the
United States, into the conflict. Many other countries, including Australia, India, and
most African colonies, fought at the behest of their imperial rulers. But according to
military historian Gary Sheffield the first world war occurred because of two
fundamental alliances "First, the decision-makers in berlin and Vienna chose to
They took a path they hoped would bring significant political gains even if it brought a
general war. Second, the government in the state of entente faced the challenge."
The impact and the influences of World War I towards International Relations in Europe
 The defeat of the Central Powers was marked as the end of World War I. For seeking
peace, this defeat was then marked by the signing of agreements between countries,
including:
1. Versailles (Germany and Allies)
2. Treaty of Sèvres (Turkey and Allies)
3. Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Austria and Allies)
4. Treaty of Trianon (Hungary and Allies)
5. Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (Bulgaria and Allies)
 After World War I, the need for an international body of nations that promotes security
and peace throughout the world became an urgent issue. This led to the founding of the
League of Nations (now, United Nations).
 Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to make significant territorial
concessions. These were mainly along its eastern and western borders. It is likely that the
most important concession was the ceding (surrendering) of Alsace-Lorraine to France,
although this area has also been the subject of dispute between France and Germany for a
long time. This area on the border between these two countries had been ceded to
Germany following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.
 As a result of World War I, the impacts nor influences for Europe and the world include:
- Brings independence to small countries (example: Syria and Mesopotamia)
- Major powers weakened (Germany, Austria-Hungary). Because they lost in World War
I, their acquisition of territory has only a small area amount. Meanwhile, the allied power
(as the winner) has a large area.
- The emergence of women's emancipation. Women's emancipation is a process, strategy
and various efforts which are done by women to free themselves from the power and
control of men and traditional customs. In the world war, when men fought on the
battlefield, women had to do jobs that were previously dominated by men. Not only their
work, but women also have to bear men’s health.

- The establishment of League of Nations which was formed for the purpose of:
o Maintaining international peace and security
 o Developing brotherly relations between nations
o Conducting international cooperation in the economic, social, cultural and security
fields

Conclusion
Throughout history there have been countless wars, and tragedies. However, none of
those horrific events are comparable to the first World War. World War I was one of the most, if
not the most bloodshed war throughout the history. This war was caused by a number of reason
such as European Imperialist expansion, assassination of Franz Ferdinand due to the protest to
Austria-Hungary controlling the region of Serbia, Nationalism that led a lot of country trying to
prove their dominancy and power in the world, as well as inside conflict of various alliance in
the world that led to disagreement and eventually led to the World War I. This war which was
fought for over 4 years were joined by many other countries, including Australia, India, and most
of African colonists. For those 4 long years, the war influenced many things for International
relations in Europe such as Versailes, Treaty of Sèvres, Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and
many more. In addition to that, the end of World War 1 brings independence to small countries
such as Syria and Mesopotamia, and the establishment of United Nation for the purpose of
maintaining international peace and security, as well as developing brotherly relations between
nations. In conclusion, even though World War I was the bloodiest war in our history, World
War 1 also have some impact and Influence toward International relations throughout the world.