Some Causes of the First World War and the Taboos of Historians is a scientific journal article written by William M. Johnston considering the question “What if?” ' on the First World War. He observes how Vienna handled World War I as well as its counterfactuals and how things would be different if a certain variable were to be changed (Johnston 77-84). Johnston is wrong in his theories about how World War I could have been avoided. There are too many flaws in her ideas and too much information submitted for it to be completely avoided. This can be seen by looking at other factors that contributed to World War I and researching Johnston. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Johnston's article is an unorthodox article, examining the counterfactuals of World War I and how it could have been avoided. It examines the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and how variables could have been changed in order to prevent war. Emperor Joseph decides not to hold a funeral ceremony for Ferdinand, the assassination did not take place, and family relationships are all observed to see if they could have prevented the war (Johnston 78-80). If historians had examined these counterfactuals in the past, we would have a better understanding of the past when it was still an important topic. Unfortunately, the “What if?” have not been examined due to the unwritten taboo of counterfactuals and the fear of being known as a "conventional historian" (Johnston 83-84). Although Johnston presents a compelling argument, he has some errors in his methods. Johnston makes it seem like the variables of Archduke Ferdinand's funeral are too great, Ferdinand's assassination by a Serbian terrorist is more important than his funeral because the assassination is what caused Austria to declare the war against Serbia (Johnston 79-80). Two other major causes of World War I that he posits are the rise of nationalism and the increase in alliances. In the nationalism of the 1800s, "the belief that loyalty to a person's nation and its political and economic goals comes before any other country" became widely known (The Cause of World War I). Nationalism weakened European countries because national groups were fighting for independence and caused pre-war tensions between groups. This also boosted support for the military and its development so that the country could achieve its goals. Alliances have been formed all over the world between different countries for a sense of security. Alliances could easily force a nation into war, normally winning due to the strength of the two nations forming an alliance and usually agreeing on issues, passing laws through a majority vote. Other flaws come from Johnston himself and how his life influenced his work. Johnston does more studies of European history and has written about Vienna, so it is likely that he would focus more on European factors than others and make them seem more important (Faculty). Additionally, noting Johnston's period, in the late 20th century, we know that he did not witness the decision made by Emperor Franz Joseph not to hold a funeral for Ferdinand. So he doesn't know that the reasoning was a "personal dislike".