WORLD HISTORY TOPIC #11

CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF 20TH

CENTURY WARS - WWI

IB History
AY 2022/2023
 Objectives
Long term causes of WWI
Short term causes of WWI
Economic, political, ideological and territorial
causes of WWI
Europe prior to WWI

■ The 1900s in Europe were characterized by

peace and harmony.
■ Peace organizations were active.
■ Europeans believed that this progress made
war a thing of the past.
 The causes of the First World War can be broken
down into a number of trends that developed through
the end of the 1 9th century and the beginning of the 2
0th century, leading up to the fateful events of July
1914, often called
the July Crisis.
Europe’s great powers: Germany,
Austria-Hungary, Great Britain,
Russia, Italy and France
 Long term causes of WWI

M Militarism
A Alliances
I
Industrialization
N
Nationalism
 Militarism – what is it?
A political, diplomatic and social emphasis on military
matters. Evidence of militarism often includes
increased military spending, development of military
technology, a general support for the goals and plans of
a nation's military and the influence of military leaders
on political decisions
(Causes and Effects of 20th Century Wars IN History Course Book Oxford)
 Militarism
■ Technical aspect of Militarism: warship – troop
concentration…
■ Aspect that appeals to the social historian – the
relation of the military to the wider society
 Deterrence
Actions or policies designed to discourage an
attack by making the consequences of the attack
prohibitive
The larger a country’s military, the less likely
other countries would be to attack.
■ There were approximately 200 army in divisions in Europe
in 1914.
■ Division: a military unit of around 12 000 / 18 000 men
(medical and logistic services, command, communication
and intelligence…)
■ Countries relied on conscription.
■ Mandatory military service was increasing.
Example: Russia and its military
■ The reality reflected a dangerous contradiction.
■ Russia: tsar’s standing army was 1.3 million and some
claimed it could mobilize a further five million reservists.
■ Combination of poor infrastructure + massive distance
between military depots + poor military organization 
one fifth of the able-bodied men of military age
Dreadnought
A class of battleship first
developed in the UK
(December 1906). A faster
and more heavily armed than
any battleships that existed at
that time. It became the
standard against which all
new ships were measured.
Industrialization
Neo – mercantilism
An economic doctrine that
emphasizes the need to decrease
imports by moving toward self-
sufficiency. This move often requires
an increase in colonial holdings to
supply raw materials and provide
markets for finished goods.
 a group of
countries, political

Alliances parties, or people

who work together
because of shared
interests or aim

■ What is an
alliance?
■ Why are alliances
important during
or prior to a war?
Triple alliance
■ Otto Von Bismarck: Chancellor of
Germany
■ Dual alliance: Germany and Austria-
Hungary established in 1879.
■ Italy joined the alliance: 1882.
■ Reinsurance treaty with Russia in 1887

■ Purpose: to isolate France from the rest

of Europe.
■ Between 1890 and 1894,
France nurtured a closer
relationship with tsarist
Russia.
■ Franco-Russian alliance:
1894.
■ German nightmare: two –
front war.
 Triple entente
■ Entente cordiale of 1904: Britain and France agreed to settle
differences in Africa. However, the entente contained no military
commitments.
■ 1907: triple entente – a less rigid agreement than the Triple Alliance as
the British refused to agree to any binding military action.
Imperialism and nationalism
 Weltpolitik
The foreign policy adopted by
Germany at the end of the 19 th

century by which they sought to

assert their influence around the
world (Wilhelm II)
The Balkans
■ Emphasis on the role of
nationalism
■ Popular ethnic group: the Slavs
centered mainly in Serbia.
■ Political division: AH and the OE.
■ Serbia’s ambition: a pan-Slavic
state.
 Pan – Slavism
A 19th-century movement that recognized a
common ethnic background among the
various Slav people of eastern and east
central Europe and sought to unite those
people for the achievement of common
cultural and political goals. (Britannica.com)
■ Balkan league: Serbia – Bulgaria – Montenegro – Greece
■ Austria – Hungary: determined to stop the pan-Slavic
nationalist claims
■ Serbia: determined to further pan-Slavic nationalist
schemes