To what extent did the Alliance System contribute to the outbreak of the First World War?

Candidates are expected to consider how far the Alliance system was responsible for the outbreak of the First World War. Other factors may also be considered as causes of the war, be they of less, equal or more significance; however, the main focus of responses will be on the role of the Alliance System.

Indicative content

• The Alliance System should be well known to candidates: the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy of 1882, the Franco-Russian alliance of 1891 to 1894, the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale of 1904 and the Anglo-Russian Entente of 1907.
• For balance, candidates could challenge the claim of the question and instead they could stress that there were other factors that were more important in the outbreak of war.
• Some candidates could argue for the importance of events in July 1914; some historians claim that this was a crisis that slipped out of control after the murder of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Candidates could point to the successful resolution of other crises, for example, Morocco in 1905 to 1906 and 1911, Bosnia in 1908 to 1909, the Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913, which all
  took place after the onset of the arms race and with the alliance system already largely in place. So, perhaps it was miscalculations in July 1914 that led to war rather than the alliance system.
• Another possible line of argument would be to underline the importance of events in the Balkans; the weakening of Ottoman power, especially the Ottoman’s defeat in the First Balkan War of 1912 that led to an unstable region with competing local nationalisms.
• Candidates may also argue that it was the aggressive nature of individual countries’ foreign policies, especially those of Germany, which caused the war.
• Candidates may claim that colonial rivalries increased tension among European powers and this contributed to the outbreak of war. Consideration could also be given to the contribution of the arms race, with reference to Anglo-German Naval rivalry and the land based arms race between European powers such as Germany and Russia.
• Some candidates could, perhaps, argue that it was the interplay of different factors that led to the outbreak of war. Perhaps the Alliance System sharpened and amplified the implications of crises in the Balkans.

The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.

Examiners are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.

[20 marks]