Why Was Europe on the Brink of Change at the Turn of the 20th Century?

By the turn of the 20th century Europe had undergone massive changes which had eventually pushed it into war. The main forces behind these changes were

1. Nationalism

2. Militarism

3. Imperialism

4. Socialism

5. Alliances

6. Unification

These ideas and systems threatened the balance of power which caused a major war to break out.

Nationalism is the feeling of loyalty shared by a group of people united by same language, race and culture; to express their loyalty to their nation, they attempt to unite themselves into a larger nation state with aspiration for independence. The Ottoman Empire was the first to feel the effects of nationalism when in 1828 Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. Metternich, the Austrian Ambassador commented on what he thought would happen after Greece became independent,

"The day the Sultan's throne collapses, the empire itself will break up into several parts."

During the 1800's nationalism took hold among people who shared a common language, history, or culture. Such people began to view themselves as members a national group or nation. By 1848 nationalist feelings had erupted throughout Europe and people began to demand their political freedom. Nationalism led to the creation of two new powers - Italy and Germany - through the uniting of many small states.

On the other hand, nationalism weakened the eastern European empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Ottoman Turkey. Those empires ruled many national groups that wanted independence. The leaders of the Austrian empire lost power as a result of rejecting their people's demands. The Hungarian nobility and the Habsburg monarchy of Austria established Austria-Hungary in an attempt to maintain the old Austrian Empire. The problem for the government of Austria-Hungary was that they did not want to lose their power and control. The Slavs in the southern part of the empire were their main concern since they wanted to join up to Serbia.

Socialism is the general term for the political and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods. In Russia socialism was creating many problems such as bad harvests, industrial strikes and the war with Japan in 1904, leading to economic difficulties and confidence in the Tsar faltering. In 1905 Father Gapon led a peaceful demonstration to see the Tsar hoping to alleviate the pressures on the working class. However, troops opened fire on the group and many were killed or wounded. This sparked off a revolution so the government made concessions, the Tsar promised working hours to be reduced and a Duma was created to hear the working class grievances.

Socialism threatened the balance of power as each country needs its people to believe in their leader, they also need the working class to be productive. Russia's working class lost faith in the Tsar after the Duma was dissolved and the promises made by the Tsar were broken.

Because of the collective nature of socialism, it is to be contrasted to the doctrine of the sanctity of private property that characterizes capitalism. In the 1840s the term communism came into use to denote loosely a militant leftist form of socialism. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels later used it to describe the movement that advocated class struggle and revolution to establish a society of cooperation. In 1848, Marx and Engels wrote the famous Communist Manifesto, in which they set forth the principles of what Marx called "scientific socialism," arguing the historical inevitability of revolutionary conflict between capital and labour.

When Napoleon defeated Austria and Prussia in the early 19th century, he grouped the German states together into a Confederation of the Rhine. Despite nationalism, many states turned against Prussia during the Austro-Prussian war in 1866 and it was a serious act of preventing Germany to unite.

In 1862 Bismarck was appointed Chief Minister in Prussia where he skilfully propagated the bringing together of the German states by convincing Germany to unify against France. Bismarck deliberately encouraged the growing rift between Prussia and France by publishing the Ems dispatch. This was the document that instigated the Franco- Prussian War (1870Ð'-71). The French government was concerned over a possible Prussia-Spanish alliance. However Leopold the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen withdraw his acceptance in July after French protests. But the French demanded further commitments. Bismarck insured the states of Germany rallied to the Prussian cause and in Jan, 1871, William I of Prussia was proclaimed German emperor. To maintain the peace necessary for the consolidation of the German empire, Bismarck proposed:

Ð'* To advance a strong military program.

Ð'* To remain within Germany's boundaries.

Ð'* To preserve British friendship by avoiding naval or colonial rivalry.

Ð'* To isolate France in diplomacy so that revenge would be impossible.

The Bismarck era closed with the death of Kaiser Wilhelm. A struggle between Bismarck and Wilhelm II developed upon the emperor's succession in 1888 and ended with Bismarck's dismissal in 1890.

Militarism is predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state. A Militarist Country believed that its power was reflected by its army. They thought that war was inevitable and that all countries needed to be ready for it. If a country felt they had superior power they would, no doubt, try to conquer a weaker neighbour or just any other country.

A build-up of military might occurred among European countries before World War 1 broke out. Nationalism encouraged public support for military build-ups and for a country's use of force to achieve its goals. By the late 1800's, Germany had the best trained army in the world. In 1898 Germany began developing a naval force that was big enough to challenge the British navy. Militarism also built up the tension and fear among the Great Powers of Europe. Britain at the time was the largest empire in the world, and it also had the largest navy. The Kaiser William II of Germany hated and envied Britain for having a stronger navy than