The alliance system alone did not cause the First World War. It was the
result of a combination of factors which together shaped a European climate
which made the outbreak of a war inevitable. Assuming that the alliance
system was one of the factors involved, we must also assess events within
Europe which actually allowed the creation of the alliance system. The
primary origins of the First World War lie in the emergence of nationalism
and the new prominent power Germany, the Great Powers' desire for
colonisation and, ironically, a desperate longing for security which
triggered the arms ra…
