Table of ContentsConclusionCounterargument 1: AlliancesCounterargument 2: The SparkWorks Cited:World War I was a deadly and devastating event that occurred in 1914- 1918. However, how did such a horrible war start? Many factors led to the Great War, but nationalism was the main cause. Nationalism is an extreme form of patriotism, marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries. It also means being extremely loyal to your country. But how did nationalism cause the First World War? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay According to History Home, an English history website run by Marjie Bloy, a qualified history professor, in the early 1900s, nationalism created strong competition and rivalry between the most powerful nations of Europe. These nations were: Great Britain, Russia, France, Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary. They competed over who was stronger militarily and economically to determine which nation was better and more powerful. However, the competition caused a lot of tension between the nations. We can relate this to the concept of power, because each nation's goal was to have the most power and competed viciously to obtain it. Nationalism was a major problem for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Indeed, the empire was made up of many ethnic groups, which was problematic since many of them wanted independence and hated each other. There were demands for political and cultural equality for all national groups in the Empire. Eventually, nationalist rivalry between nationalities became intense. Another problem for the Austrian Empire was the growth of South Slavic nationalism among Slovenes, Croats and particularly Serbs. The empire felt extremely threatened by Serbia's rapid growth and therefore accepted that Serbian power must be ruined. We can relate this to the concept of choice, as the Austrian Empire made the decision to plan an attack on Serbia because they felt threatened by Serbia becoming superior to them. This caused a lot of tension between the two countries. Eventually, nationalism drove a Serb to assassinate Archduke Francis Ferdinand, leading to World War I. Several sources and historians agree that nationalism was the major cause of the First World War. For example; Alpha History, a website run by several former and current history professors, and a historian named Lawrence Rosenthal. The value of Alpha History is that the site is run by professionals in the field, but its limitation is that the professionals were not alive at the time of World War I, so access to the data could have been problematic. Alpha History explained that citizens of great nations believed in the cultural, economic, and military supremacy of their nation. This was due to popular culture and the media, which spread rumors about rival nations and their evil intentions. They would also boast and exaggerate about the successes, power and military of the nation. This has caused people to become overconfident in their country, their government, and their military strength, ultimately leading citizens to believe that their nation is unbeatable in war. The media would also portray their nation as fair, just and innocent. While this would portray rival nations as aggressive, scheming and evil. This only madecontribute to the hatred and anger of citizens against their rivals. Nationalism showed that war was necessary and easy to win. Lawrence Rosenthal is an expert in history, but his limitation is that he gave his opinion based on his knowledge. He said nationalism arouses the fierce emotions that characterize human relationships at simpler sociological levels. He described nationalism as follows: internal loyalty, external aggression. This meant that the fierce loyalty you felt for your nation turned into fierce anger towards your rivals. (Despite all this overwhelming evidence, some say that a major cause of the war was naval rivalry which was the main event of militarism. However, according to a tutor/student studying history at university; naval rivalry was started because of German nationalism Indeed, German nationalists believed that by building a larger navy they would challenge Britain, which would increase German prestige and allow Germany to gain more colonies in Africa. Britain felt very threatened by Germany's plans to build a larger navy so this led to extreme tensions between the two countries. We can relate this to the concept of change and choice, because in doing so. the choice to build a larger navy, this changed the relationship between Britain and Germany. Germany made this choice because it wanted to feel superior to Britain by having a larger navy. , which Britain feared. After making this decision, it changed the atmosphere between the two nations and caused more tension. An author named Jamie Cawley even said that nationalism meant groups of people competing with each other, which was the sole cause of European competitiveness (in other words, militarism) that led to World War I. ConclusionIn conclusion, nationalism is the main cause of the First World War. because it has created so much tension between nations, countries and nationalities. Nationalism was also the main reason behind many of the problems that ultimately caused the outbreak of the Great War. first place. In 1914, a German military writer named General Friedrich von Bernhardi wrote about the Triple Alliance. He explains that Germany and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance because Austria was a large part of German history and because of nationalism, Germans were extremely loyal to their country. and cultural. This historical perspective has the limitation of the fact that he chose a narrow approach when he only talks about the German-Austrian alliance and the value of the historian as an expert in his field because he was living at that time. He also claims that they also shared the German language and that the Germans constituted the backbone of Austrian territory, the bond of union that united the different nationalities of the Empire. This may be related to identities and relationships, as Germany and the Austrian Empire had good relations due to their similar identities. Overall, this means that the alliances would not have existed in the first place, without nationalism. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Counterargument 2: The Spark Although the Spark caused the outbreak of World War I, it could not have happened without nationalism. According to Alpha History, this was due to the nationalist movement of Slavic groups in the Balkans...