[Right_Wing_Madman]

I think there were three main causes of World War I:

1. The final crack up of the Austrian Empire. As the Austrian Empire became less German, its social and political system became less stable. When Serbs threatened to break away, Germany felt obligated to defend its Germanic brothers in Austria and Russia felt obligated to defend its Slavic brothers.

2. The late unification of Germany in 1871. A young confident expanding German empire was a security threat to Romanov Russia and it endangered the British/French colonial system that had been in place for 200 years.

3. The 1815 Congress of Vienna, one of the most successful treaties ever. Europe had lived in relative peace for 99 years, and frankly, people were tired of peace and wanted to start killing each other again.

[x]

The 1815 Congress of Vienna, one of the most successful treaties ever. Europe had lived in relative peace for 99 years, and frankly, people were tired of peace and wanted to start killing each other again.

Europe had a series of short wars in the mid-19th century that led to the unification of Germany (and the unification of Italy).

Europeans were impressed and thought of wars as short and glorious and were looking forward to having one of their own.

Countries, particularly shaky monarchies like Russia and Austria-Hungary, looked to the unifying effects of war as a tonic that would perk them up and strengthen society and the political regime.

In hindsight that was very foolish.

[Mr. Blond]

re #2, the still mighty France was seething over their defeat in the Franco-Prussian War by the unified Germany, and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine(which they had previously taken from Germans under Louis the 15th).