The Origins of the First World War (Seminar Studies In History)

This essential introduction provides an invaluable study aid to students. The book deals with the policies and the issues that brought Europe to war in 1914. The position of each of the great powers within the international framework is concisely explained. The problems confronting them are also carefully analysed, as is the influence of political and economic structures on the decision-making process. Professor Martel shows how and why the confrontational alliance system came into being and considers the impact upon it of the series of crisis that brought the major powers close to conflict in the opening years of the twentieth century. He outlines the terms and obligations that these alliances entailed and discusses the extent to which they were responsible for the outbreak of war.

Gordon Martel is Professor of International History at the University of North British Columbia, Canada.