Underlying cause of World War I

Nationalism is defined as an extreme devotion to a nation or state which leads citizens to prioritize their own nation’s interests over those of other countries. This type of thinking led to increased competition between European nations for resources like colonies and markets for trade. As different nations competed against each other for these resources, tensions began to rise between them. This created an environment where it was easier for small conflicts or disputes to escalate into larger ones. Militarism played a significant role in leading up to World War I as well. Nations stockpiled weapons and trained large armies in order to protect their sovereignty from potential attacks by rival countries. This arms race only served to further increase competitive tensions among nations since everyone wanted the strongest military possible in order be able maintain control over their borders and influence foreign policy decisions made by other states. Imperialism also contributed significantly towards escalating pre-WWI tensions between European powers as they attempted expand their economic influence around the globe through colonization practices such as land-grabbing; this resulted in heated disputes regarding territories that were claimed by multiple countries at once due lack of clear boundaries established prior colonization attempts being carried out by various states simultaneously . In addition , imperialist ambitions inevitably led some nations attempt dominate others , creating antagonistic sentiments amongst state leaders . Finally , alliances systems had an important role play leading up WWI due manner which they encouraged interdependency amongst major players international politics European powers formed align events hostile circumstances arise ; this meant when any single country became involved conflict situation , its allies would automatically feel obliged become embroiled battle alongside it no matter how minor incident might have been initially . All four aforementioned aspects ultimately combined create atmosphere brink war Europe 1914 ultimately lead outbreak hostilities known today World War 1 .