How Nationalism, Imperialism, and Militarism Played an Active Role in the War Outbreak

America and the Great WarName:Institutional Affiliation:
The Sarajevo assassination of the Archduke of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 became the immediate cause of World War 1. However, there exist other underlying forces that contributed to the occurrence of the war. The factors include the then changing political and economic situations in the central European nations. The war broke out in July 1914 and lasted through to November 11th, 1914. The casualties of the war were over 17 million people. This paper will highlight nationalism, imperialism, and militarism played an active role in the war outbreak.
Nationalism refers to one’s full commitment to patriotism and loyalty to one’s country. A nationalist always puts the interest of his or her country above all other nations. Nationalism’s role in causing a world war erupted as a result of most Europeans believing their culture, economic and military supremacy of their nations as the most established. The press further fuelled the situation by publishing nationalistic inflammatory stories and propaganda talks about their enemy nations. Nationalist ideas portrayed rivals as deceitful and uncivilised. As a result of rumours, citizens felt their opponents were targeting their country. Nationalism led to competition between European nations (Mrozek, 2010). Competition for resources to run factories and other industries resulted in colonisation in Africa. The scramble for colonies in Africa caused territorial disputes among the participating European nations a move that further fuelled rivalry among them (Mrozek, 2010). In the quest for gaining control over territories, Austria went on to establish its sphere of influence in the Balkans. The Balkan consisted of Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Croatia, and other smaller nations. The Slavic people in Bosnia and Herzegovina were opposed to their rule and decided to break away and form their independent nation. Eventually, Austria annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, a territory that was under Serbia. Their territorial dispute resulted in the shooting of Archduke of Franz Ferdinand an outcome that started a war between Serbia and Austria. Russia joined in, in support of Serbia and other alliances followed suit causing a full-fledged world war (Mrozek, 2010).
Imperialism refers to a system in which powerful nations take control of colonies with the intention of exploiting their resources. Before the World War 1, Great Britain has emerged as the most powerful imperial nation. France and Germany had also colonised some nations and were keen on expanding their empires. The scramble for colonial control worsened relationships between the three countries especially when their interest over the same territories clashed. In the Balkans Austria had imperial rule over the small nations there including Serbia. Serbia’s quest for independence pushed it to form an alliance with Russia. The union conceived friction between Russia and Austria, a conflict that saw other European countries aligning themselves for war. Germany allied with Austria while Britain France and Russia are allied with Serbia. The alliances saw the conception of World War 1.
Militarism got signalled through the rise of exp...