However, most factors that are said to have provoked war or at least facilitated it have more than one country concerned. For example, the Alliance system, that started as far back as 1881 between Austria-Hungary and Serbia against Russia and later on encircled Germany, who felt threatened by three countries Britain, France and Russia and seeked further alliances with Austria-Hungary to protect from Russia. These alliances also caused and aggressive environment between countries who were clearly taking sides against each other and making agreements for the events of a war before it even began.
Militarism was also a factor that involved not one, but many countries as there was competition not only for better navies and armies which caused such numbers to increase (along with fear and readiness to fight), but regarding overseas colonies, which reflected the wealth of a country and it’s “backup” resources. For example, Britain could focus its economy on the war, as there were many other countries from which they could get money. However, Germany did not have such resources and its wish to expand and equal Britain and France would evidently cause turbulence.
Imperialism, a country’s wish to have lands subject to their rule was also a cause of the First World War. While it may be said that it was Germany’s desire to become imperialist by taking over colonies and European lands that motivated it into the war, countries such as Britain and France may also share the blame for being imperialist in first place, as Lenin said. He disagreed with the idea of a country “owning” another, and felt that European countries lust for power caused the constantly threatening atmosphere in the continent.
Nationalism, which nowadays may be seen as a good thing to a country had a different meaning in the beginning of the 20th century. Being in strong support of the rights and interests of one’s country meant to many countries taking over lands and expansionism, which maintained a hostile environment as each country had its own aim and might have joined the war to fulfill it.
A British historian Taylor says that Britain, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary could have avoided war, but for this, they would have allowed Germany to become the greatest European country. However, he does not blame Germany for the war, but three men: the foreign minister of Austria Hungary, Count Berchtold, who decided to go to war with Serbia to prove his country to still be a great power, Bethman Hollwegg, the Chancellor, who agreed with Berchtold without any further thought or consideration and Schlieffen, who was dead by the time the war had broken out, but had designed a plan of war for Germany that involved the invasion of many European countries. He suggests that Germany bluffed when encouraging Austria-Hungary to go to war with Serbia, thinking that the Russians would not protect it, and began the First World War.
As Fischer argued, Germany caused the First World War and also influenced Hitler do repeat the process years later with the same expansionist aims. However, there is much criticism to his thesis in that it was incomplete and focused only on Germany and no other countries’ role in the outbreak of war was considered.
Even though it can be argued that Germany was the main country responsible for the war, every possible cause for it discussed involves another country’s co-operation or rivalry, making it extremely hard to blame one single country for the war, even though it may seem the easiest thing that needs to be done. History is many times written by the winners, which seems to be the case, as Germany alone could not have been responsible for all causes of the war.