CHAPTER THREE: World War I

Study

Chapter 3 provides an analysis of the beginnings of World War I through the lenses of the three perspectives. Using realism, World War I is explained by changes in the European balance of power, with distinctions drawn among the rigid alliances argument, which claims that the war was caused by an inflexible continental bipolarity; the future imbalances argument, which maintains that Germany's fear of Russia's growing power triggered the war; and hegemonic decline, which explains World War I by citing Britain's waning status as a superpower. The liberal perspective, by contrast, emphasizes Europe's diplomatic and institutional problems, focusing on the clumsy diplomacy of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German misperceptions about British neutrality, and weak domestic institutions in Germany and Austria-Hungary. Constructivism examines the ideas and norms possessed by nations in the prewar years. Several different forms of nationalism—militant, socialist, and liberal—figure prominently in constructivist explanations of World War I. Finally, critical theory perspectives point to the fact that most accounts of World War I come from the realist perspective.

Study Questions

1. What are the three types of nationalism? How are they similar? How do they differ? According to constructivists, what role did each play in the lead-up to World War I?
   
   
   
2. Using the domestic level of analysis, how might a realist account for World War I? A liberal? A constructivist?
   
   
   
3. Liberals believe that diplomacy, which had previously prevented war, failed in 1914 for three reasons. What are these reasons, and why could they not be overcome?
   
   
   
4. Why do critical theorists believe that history is mainly written from a realist perspective? By doing so, which factors are overlooked and what are the implications of doing so?