International Relations: 1900-1914 - The World on the Brink of War

Hello! Welcome to your study notes for a really crucial period in world history. We're going to travel back to the years between 1900 and 1914. Think of this time as the final scene of a movie right before a huge explosion. Everything seems normal on the surface, but the tension is building up. In this chapter, we'll explore why the major countries of Europe were full of rivalry and conflict, what they did (or didn't do) to keep the peace, and how it all eventually led to the outbreak of one of the biggest wars in history: World War I. Understanding this is key to understanding the rest of the 20th century, so let's dive in!


Europe at the Beginning of the 20th Century: A Tense Neighbourhood

Imagine Europe in 1900 as a school playground with several powerful and proud groups of friends, or 'cliques'. Each group wants to be the most popular, the strongest, and have the best toys. This created a lot of jealousy and suspicion.

The Main Players (The 'Cliques'):

• Great Britain: The 'rich kid' who had been top of the school for a long time. It had a massive overseas empire ("the sun never sets on the British Empire") and the world's most powerful navy. Britain wanted to keep things as they were to protect its empire and trade.

• Germany: The 'new, ambitious kid' who was growing up fast. It had become a powerful industrial country and was building a strong army and navy. Germany felt it deserved more respect, more colonies, and a 'place in the sun'.

• France: The 'kid holding a grudge'. France was still angry about losing a war to Germany in 1871 (the Franco-Prussian War) and losing two important regions, Alsace-Lorraine. Its main goal was to get revenge and make sure Germany didn't become too powerful.

• Austria-Hungary: The 'old, fragile kid' trying to hold its diverse group of friends together. It was a large, multi-ethnic empire with many groups (like Serbs, Croats, Czechs) wanting to break away and form their own countries. It was worried about falling apart.

• Russia: The 'huge but troubled kid'. Russia was massive, with a giant army, but was less industrialised and had many internal problems. It saw itself as the protector of all Slavic peoples, especially those in the Balkans (like the Serbs), which put it in direct conflict with Austria-Hungary.

Key Takeaway

At the start of the 20th century, Europe was not a happy family. It was a continent of proud, ambitious, and fearful nations. Each major power had its own goals and anxieties, which often clashed with the goals and anxieties of others. This was the foundation for all the trouble that was to come.


Sources of Rivalries and Conflicts: The Powder Keg

Historians often say that Europe before 1914 was like a 'powder keg' – a barrel full of explosive gunpowder just waiting for a spark. The sources of tension were the gunpowder. A great way to remember them is the mnemonic MAIN.

M - Militarism
A - Alliance System
I - Imperialism
N - Nationalism

Let's break each one down. Don't worry if these words seem complicated; the ideas behind them are quite simple.

M for Militarism: The Arms Race

What it is: Militarism is the belief that a country should have a strong military and be prepared to use it to defend or promote its interests.

Analogy: Imagine two kids on the playground arguing. One gets a bigger, better water pistol. To avoid being beaten, the other kid has to get an even bigger one. Soon, everyone is armed with giant water cannons, and a small disagreement is likely to turn into a massive water fight.

This is what was happening in Europe. It was an arms race.

• Countries like Germany and France built up huge conscript armies (where young men were forced to do military service).

• They developed detailed war plans, like Germany's famous Schlieffen Plan, which was a plan to quickly defeat France before turning to fight Russia.

• The most famous example was the Anglo-German Naval Race. Germany started building a large navy to challenge Britain's control of the seas. Britain responded by building more and better battleships, like the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought. This race created a lot of suspicion and hostility between the two powers.

A for Alliance System: Choosing Teams

What it is: An alliance is a formal agreement or pact between two or more countries. They promise to help each other, especially if one of them is attacked.

Analogy: The cliques on the playground form official teams. Team A promises that if anyone picks a fight with one member, the whole team will jump in. Team B does the same. This system is supposed to stop fights from starting (because who would be foolish enough to fight a whole team?), but it also means that a tiny argument between two people could drag everyone into a massive brawl.

By 1914, Europe was divided into two armed camps:

1. The Triple Alliance (formed 1882):
• Germany
• Austria-Hungary
• Italy (Note: Italy was an unreliable member and would later switch sides)

2. The Triple Entente (formed 1907):
• France
• Russia
• Great Britain

This system, meant to create a balance of power and keep the peace, actually made war more likely. It created a 'domino effect' where one conflict could trigger a chain reaction.

I for Imperialism: The Fight for Colonies

What it is: Imperialism is when a powerful country takes control of weaker countries or regions (colonies) for economic and political gain.

Analogy: Everyone in the cafeteria wants a slice of a limited-edition pizza (colonies). Britain and France got there early and took most of the slices. Germany arrived late and is angry that there are only a few small, leftover slices. This leads to arguments and fights over the remaining pizza.

The 'Scramble for Africa' in the 19th century was mostly over, but rivalries continued. Germany wanted its own overseas empire to compete with Britain and France. This led to several dangerous clashes:

• The First Moroccan Crisis (1905): Germany tried to challenge France's influence in Morocco. This backfired, only strengthening the bond between Britain and France.

• The Second Moroccan Crisis (1911): Germany sent a gunboat to Morocco, again to challenge France. This again increased tension and made Britain even more wary of Germany's ambitions.

N for Nationalism: Pride and Prejudice

What it is: Nationalism can mean two things here. First, it's intense pride and loyalty to your own nation. Second, it's the desire of a group of people with a shared culture and language to have their own independent country.

Analogy for the first kind: Shouting "Our school is the best!" and believing that your school is better than all the others. This can lead to arrogance and disrespect for others. This was happening in Germany (Pan-Germanism) and Britain.

Analogy for the second kind: A group of students in a large, strict club (an empire) feel they have their own identity and want to break away to form their own, smaller club (an independent nation).

This second kind of nationalism was a huge problem in the Balkans, an area in Southeast Europe. It was known as the "Powder Keg of Europe".

• The Ottoman (Turkish) Empire was weakening, leaving a power vacuum.

• Both Austria-Hungary and Russia wanted to control the region.

• Many Slavic peoples, like the Serbs, wanted to be free from foreign rule and unite all Slavs into one nation (a movement known as Pan-Slavism). Serbia, already independent, was at the centre of this dream. This directly threatened the multi-ethnic empire of Austria-Hungary, which had a large Serb population of its own.

Quick Review: The MAIN Causes

Militarism: Countries built huge armies and navies.
Alliances: Europe was divided into two hostile teams.
Imperialism: Countries competed for colonies and resources.
Nationalism: Intense patriotism and the desire for independence created instability, especially in the Balkans.

These four factors were interconnected and created a climate of extreme tension, suspicion, and fear. War was not inevitable, but it was becoming more and more likely.


Attempts at Making Peace: Too Little, Too Late?

It's important to remember that not everyone wanted war. There were genuine attempts to promote international cooperation and avoid conflict. The problem was that these efforts were not strong enough to overcome the powerful forces of MAIN.

The Hague Conferences (1899 and 1907)

• Representatives from many countries met in The Hague, Netherlands, to discuss peace.

• Their Goals: To limit the arms race and create a way for countries to settle disputes peacefully, through a process called arbitration (like having a judge decide an argument instead of fighting).

• The Result: Mostly a failure. They created a court for arbitration, but countries couldn't agree on limiting their armies or navies. No one wanted to give up their military advantage.

These conferences showed that there was a desire for peace, but nationalism and militarism were stronger forces. Countries talked about peace, but they continued to prepare for war.

Did you know?

The modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896 with the aim of promoting peace and understanding between nations through friendly sporting competition. The founder, Pierre de Coubertin, hoped it would be a substitute for war. Sadly, this spirit of cooperation wasn't enough to stop the conflicts of the 20th century.

Key Takeaway

While there were some peace movements and conferences before 1914, they failed to stop the drift towards war. The major powers were too suspicious of each other and too committed to their military and imperial ambitions to make real compromises for peace.


The Spark: How World War I Broke Out in 1914

The MAIN factors were the dry wood and gunpowder. All that was needed was a single spark to set everything ablaze. That spark came on June 28, 1914, in the Balkan city of Sarajevo.

The Assassination in Sarajevo

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, was visiting Sarajevo. He was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip. The assassin was part of a group that wanted to free Slavs from Austrian rule and unite them with Serbia.

Common Mistake Alert!

A very common mistake is to say the assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the *cause* of World War I. It was not! It was the trigger or the spark that lit the powder keg. The real, long-term causes were Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

The July Crisis: A Step-by-Step Chain Reaction

What followed the assassination was a month-long diplomatic crisis where the alliance system pulled everyone into war.

Step 1: Austria-Hungary blames Serbia. They see this as the perfect excuse to crush Serbian nationalism once and for all.

Step 2: Germany gives Austria-Hungary a "Blank Cheque". This means Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary no matter what it decided to do. This made Austria-Hungary very confident and aggressive.

Step 3: Austria-Hungary sends Serbia an ultimatum. This was a list of harsh demands designed to be impossible for Serbia to accept fully.

Step 4: Serbia accepts most, but not all, of the demands. Austria-Hungary uses this as an excuse to declare war on July 28, 1914.

Step 5: Russia mobilises its army. Seeing itself as the protector of Serbia (a fellow Slavic nation), Russia prepares its army to fight Austria-Hungary. The dominoes start to fall...

Step 6: Germany declares war on Russia. Germany sees the Russian army getting ready as a threat to itself and its ally, Austria-Hungary.

Step 7: Germany declares war on France. Germany knows France is Russia's ally and will attack Germany. Germany decides to strike first, activating its Schlieffen Plan.

Step 8: Germany invades neutral Belgium. The Schlieffen Plan required the German army to march through Belgium to attack France from the north.

Step 9: Great Britain declares war on Germany. Britain had promised to protect Belgium's neutrality in a treaty signed long ago (the 1839 Treaty of London). The German invasion of Belgium gave Britain the reason it needed to enter the war.

By early August 1914, all the major powers of Europe were at war. A regional conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia had exploded into a continent-wide catastrophe, which would soon become a World War.

Key Takeaway

The assassination in Sarajevo was the trigger for the war. The inflexible alliances, rigid military plans, and aggressive decisions made during the July Crisis created a chain reaction that nobody could stop. A small fire in the Balkans quickly became a massive European blaze.