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Were the foreign policies of European governments before 1914 conducive to the outbreak of war?

The First World War began through a complex series of events, which had distant roots in the history foreign policies of the governments of the European countries. That a conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia would escalate into Europe-wide war is not easy to explain, but it is certain that the respective foreign policies of European governments had more than just a small part to play. A build-up of rivalry had been evident in the preceding twenty years, with the creation of two ‘blocs’, the Triple Alliance, consisting of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; and the Triple Entente, which included Britain, France and Russia. The network of alliances that led to the two blocs has been described by Lowes Dickinson as a period of “international anarchy”. The foreign policies prior to 1914 were most definitely conducive to the outbreak of war, and essential in the escalation to Europe-wide war.

The Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and subsequent German unification changed the bal...

Posted by: Tamara Moore

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