Age Of Imperialism In Germany

Possibly the single most pondered question in history could be what caused the unrestricted and blind slaughter of World War I? After the Age of Imperialism reached its height during the mid-1800s it was followed by a seemingly vibrant age of progression that gleamed optimism in the minds of some Europeans. Unification among Germany in 1871 and Serbia in 1882 presented the map of Europe with new political entities. However, this age of apparent progressive reform shrouded over the real tensions that lied beneath. Unlike World War II, a phenomenon whereby a single belligerent foe antagonized the global stage to militarily intervene. It didn't possess the moral and credible vindication to resist a tyrant. Rather a delicate but toxic balance of
Administrative policies were symbiotically integrated with militaristic endeavors. The German military had been deemed a "State within the State" with the General Staff's control over Parliament and politicians (World War I). Military competition, judged relatively between the major European powers, bolstered war capabilities and instilled a cultural paranoia. "It is also important to take notice of the fact that from 1910 to 1914, while France increased her [defense] expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%." (World War I). Germany in particular sought to expand its navy with the 1900 Naval Law which doubled its inventory to 24 battleships however, the British always maintained naval superiority with its Dreadnoughts. British obsession with naval dominance was strong government rhetoric which exaggerated military expansionism. A simple naivety in the potential scale of unchecked aggression and bloodshed of a war stemmed from the conscription program and technology. A delusion of possible invincibility and expedient triumph soaked the ideology of each major European
It was tied to militarism and clashed with the interest of the imperial powers in Europe, although created new competitive arenas. Wars, imperial rivalries, political rhetoric, newspapers, and popular culture such as ‘invasion literature’ written by penny press novelists fueled the fiery spirit of a people. For example, the Habsburg Empire was a tottering agglomeration of 11 different ethnicities with large Slavic populations and the Balkans, whose nationalist aspirations ran counter to Imperial cohesion. Throughout the course of the 1800s the diverse people of its Empire dreamed of their own country and vied to one day attain it. Indeed such Pan-Slavism created the trigger cause at the conflict. The multi-cultural and ethnic empire of Austro-Hungary was submerged with internal discontent via nationalistic fervor. On June 28th, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand met at Sarajevo, of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, to give a speech to his diverse people on why they could not be granted independence from the Empire. The assassination of the heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand, his wife, and unborn baby in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Bosnian-Serbian nationalist terrorist organization, the Black Hand, was interpreted as an accused product of official Serbian coercion and is the primary cause of war. Such instigated the July crisis, a month of diplomatic and governmental miscalculations