In addition to the creation of unnecessary tensions, the alliance system was unable to resolve long-term problems. The pre-WWI system was constructed in the old style foreign diplomacy of one man: Bismarck. This alliance system was the brainchild of just Bismarck himself – only he knew of the situation of the alliance. So, if he was to be removed from office or pass away, the system and policies he established would disappear because no one else knew about it. The policies would therefore be unapparent in the long-run in accordance to addressing long-term problems. Consequently, this is what had happened: Bismarck was dismissed, the Kaiser allowed the Reinsurance Treaty (signed between Russia and Germany) to lapse, pushing the Russians to create a counter-alliance with the French, which was achieving exactly what Bismarck had sought to avoid. Once Bismark was dismissed, the alliance system fell apart in that it was unable to resolve problems that occurred later on, problems which were previously suppressed by policies endorsed by Bismarck. Henig argues that the alliance system was unable to deal with long-term problems, and historian W. N. Medlicott felt that it ‘had made a deadlock and called it peace’. Thus, the example of the lapse of the Reinsurance Treaty is an example which clearly demonstrates that the alliance system is the brainchild of one man – Bismarck – and because he was dismissed, his policies and system had failed, thus unable to resolve long term problems, which is a cause of WWI.
The alliance system was only one of the causes among others that had helped contribute to the outbreak of WWI. One such cause was the arms race. The arms race was a cause of WWI because it was a threat to peace which built up tension and fear among the Great Powers. Europe was viewed as an ‘armed camp’ from 1870-1914 – increased armaments’ expenditure by an European power before 1914 was viewed as a threat by its perceived rival, and thus created an atmosphere of mutual fear and suspicion, which played a major part in creating the mood for war in 1914. An example of this would be the tension that was heightened by a naval rivalry (the Anglo-German naval race) between Britain and Germany. Germany increased its navy size and built many warships, thus Britain responded by building more ships and expanded its navy as well. This navy race created mutual tension and competition between the two nations. Michael Howard argues this as well, saying that arms race was a ‘major source of friction prior to the war’ – in other words, the arms race had built up tension and fear in Europe that created a mood for war in 1914 – thus a cause of WWI. Therefore, the alliance system is not the only major cause of WWI.
Imperialism was a cause of WWI because disputes over colonies and commerce were a constant threat to peace which caused tension and hostility between nations. Economic and colonial rivalry helped to create mistrust between the European powers, which heightened the tension, and led to several serious international crises such as the Moroccon Crises. Because of Germany’s new foreign policy Weltpolitik, it now wanted a colonial empire too. The great powers were competing for economic expansion in Africa, where the crises had involved the clash of Germany against Britain and France in Morocco. Results of these crises was that it had increased tension and hostility between the nations. Marxist historians argue that war is a result of imperialistic economic rivalry. The example of the Moroccon Crises highlights the significance of imperialistic colonial rivalry had produced friction, causing a constant threat to peace which caused tension and hostility between nations – thus, imperialism was a cause of WWI. Therefore, the alliance system is not the only major cause of WWI.
Domestic factors were a cause of WWI because domestic pressure influenced countries to go to war. Countries believed that war was an alternative for internal domestic unrest. War arose as a part of a desire to divert attention from dangers by engaging in a war abroad. War would become to be seen by those making decisions to be a more attractive alternative than domestic reform. For example, Austria was faced with insoluble problem of its multinational empire. The outdated Austria system was unable to cope with nationalism, so to preserve their system, they appreciated a war to be more “attractive” alternative to domestic reform. Historians such as Williamson and Heir argue this as well. The example of Austria and its domestic pressure influencing her to clearly demonstrate hat domestic factors were a cause of WWI because the country believed that war was an alternative for internal domestic unrest. Therefore, the alliance system is not the only major cause of WWI.
The alliance system is not the only major cause of WWI. Nationalism was a cause of WWI because it elicited such strong feelings of patriotism which caused hostility and dangerous movements between nations. The Greater Serbia Movement contributed to the outbreak of war; Serbia wanted to unite with Bosnia and Herzegovina by encouraging the Slavs in the Dual Monarchy to overthrow the Austria-Hungarians, who ruled their country.Historian Mayer argues this as well. It was nationalism that encouraged the Serb assassin Givriolo Princip to shoot Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 – which became an immediate cause of WWI. The example of the Greater Serbia Movement and the assassination of the Archduke clearly demonstrate that nationalism was an explosive force which finally exploded into war following Sarajevo in 1914, thus a major cause of WWI.
In conclusion, tt can be said that the alliance system contributed to the growing tensions of the proceeding period. The alliance system had its flaws; it was unable to resolve unnecessary tension, long-term problems that occurred after the dismissal of Bismarck and expectations of its allies when a country launched into war. Nonetheless, the system’s influence on the cause of the war was only to a certain extent because there were other vital reasons as well, such as domestic factors, imperial rivalry, the arms race and nationalism. All of these contributed to the outbreak of the Great War - the alliance system was simply only one of the many of them.
