HIST209 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: July Crisis, Final Crisis, Russia-1
HIST209 Lecture Notes Monday 30 April 2018
We ae o the ee of the ost deadful a Euope has ee see
Origins of the First World War
What made the First World War happen?
Arguments say that it was inevitable, and that Europe knew it was going to happen. They
even made attempts to stop it.
So, what went wrong? Was it the result of the events since the French Revolution?
Economic aspect to the precursors of war
- Economic expansion and colonisation
The progress of military weapons in Europe
- Something like an arms race
An industrial like war
War guilt: The debate
- In assessing blame for war, historians have typically focused on Germany
- Post-WW2: changing views on war guilt
o ‘efaed histoias oeptio o hy atios go to a
- The Fishe thesis: Geray’s Ais i the First World War (Fritz Fischer, 1961)
o Many nations bore responsibility
o What is it?: Geay ust ea esposiility
▪ Because they were on a mission to dominate the continent
o Eidee: Geays “eptee Poga
- Fishes critics: militarism enthralled other European powers also; part of a general
Euopea sikess
o Stereotypical
- Other historians dismissed the question of responsibility altogether; argued that the
War was a result of dangerous forces in European life
War an inevitability?
- Coet of Euope had estalished alae of poe syste to ostai theats to
peace
- Normalised relations between great powers in 19thC, eifoed stateaft ad
diplomacy
- Conflict/tensions occurred at the peripheries or in colonies – ets fo ialies
- Powers keen to avert war and avoid disorder e.g. Russo-Japanese War – 1905
Revolution
Long-term causes
- Rise of ultra-nationalism and Social Darwinism
- Cultural crisis in Europe
- Alliance systems
- Armaments race
- Made the environment right for war to break out
Rise of ultra-nationalism and Social Darwinism
- Nationalist thinkers propagated Social Darwinist doctrines – supeio aes
o Promoted by a number of statesman around Europe
o European nation states began to think that they were better than lesser races
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Document Summary
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