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A Network for War

World War One, known as the Great War, was a devastating conflict that ripped apart Europe and the powers that reigned control over politics for the 19th and early 20th centuries. This event caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the destruction of towns and cities, and dramatically changed the course of history.

When looking back at an event of such magnitude we often ask what set the stage for such an event to come to be. Here I am not talking about the immediate cause of the war (Archduke Ferdinand’s Assassination). I am talking about the long-term causes of the war, the things that created the environment for an event of such magnitude: I am talking about the Alliances between the European nations.

Now then, before I go off and start ranting about European Alliances and the politics that set up The Great War, you must be asking “what the heck does all this have to do with networks?” Networks provide a great way of looking at and analyzing the alliances between the great powers of Europe.

If you were to create a network that expresses the alliances of Europe leading up to World War One you would make the nodes the countries of Europe and the edges the alliances or distrust between the countries.  When the new German state came to be it humiliated the French which caused a negative link between the two countries. At the same time, Austria-Hungry and Russia had a negative link between them because they were both trying to control the Balkans.

Kaiser Wilhelm II then formed a strong military alliance with Austria-Hungry thus alienating Germany from Russia and creating an enemy-enemy-ally triangle between Russia, Austria-Hungry and Germany. This then prompted an enemy-enemy-enemy triangle between France, Germany and Russia which then caused France to form a shaky alliance with Russia. At the same time England was a longstanding rival of France but it was also weary of the growing military might of Germany. This formed another unstable triangle which was stabilized when France and England put aside their differences and allied themselves.

These alliances are what set the stage for The Great War: Germany and Austria-Hungry on one side with France, England and Russia on the other side.  The tension between Austria and Russia mounted in the Balkans until it all finally exploded and caused the chain reaction that ended up being World War One.

 

Source: http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/alliances/

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