Causes of World War I

1. Militarism

1.1. The aggressive building up of a nations military and planning for war

2. Imperialsim

2.1. European powers competed over colonies around the world

3. Nationalism

3.1. Intense pride in one's nation or ethnicity. Balkan nationalism created an unstable situation.

4. Tangle of Alliances

4.1. The European Alliance system made a small conflict much more likely to erupt into a World War.