The global impact of the First World War dominated the history of the first half of the twentieth century. This major reassessment of the origins of the war, based on extensive original research in several countries, is the first full analysis of the politics of armaments in pre-1914 Europe. David Stevenson directs attention away from the Anglo-German naval race towards the competition on land between the continental armies. He analyses the defence policies of the powers, and the interaction between the growth of military preparedness and the diplomatic crises in the Mediterranean and the Balkans that culminated in the events of July-August 1914. Drawing on insights from political science, the book offers a fresh conceptual framework for the origins of the First World War, and provides a thought-provoking case-study of the broader relationships between armaments and international conflict.
Readership: Scholars and students of early twentieth-century history, political scientists, especially those interested in the origins of the First World War or in military history.
David Stevenson, Lecturer in International History, London School of Economics
"This has become an indispensable tool in our understanding of this vital era." - Contemporary Review, Paperbacks.
"It has a full scholarly apparatus, with footnotes conveniently at the foot of the page - today unusual, but very welcome. The Journal of the Victorian Military Society (June 1997)"
Introduction 1: Arms and the Men 2: Continental Equilibrium? 1904-1908 3: The Breakdown of Equilibrium in the East: From the Bosnian Crisis to the Balkan Wars, 1908-1912 4: The Breakdown of Equilibrium in the West, 1908-1912 5: The Great Acceleration, 1912-1913 6: Vials of Wrath, 1912-1914 7: Conclusion
