The Complex Origins of the First World War
If one is looking for a single definitive cause for Europe’s collective decision to fight in 1914, the only certainty is disappointment, argues Sam Fowles.
If one is looking for a single definitive cause for Europe’s collective decision to fight in 1914, the only certainty is disappointment. Yet the ready availability of sources and, until recently, first hand accounts has facilitated a plethora of theories. Michael Gove and Boris Johnson exemplified just one when they claimed that the First World War was a “just war” brought about by German expansionism. The danger of the public debate that has followed is its fundamental reductionism.
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