Lessons from World War I

• Main Author: John Scales Avery
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Risk Institute, Trieste- Geneva 2014-05-01
• Series: Cadmus
• Online Access: http://www.cadmusjournal.org/article/volume-2/issue-2-part-3/lessons-world-war-i

The history of World War I is reviewed, starting with a discussion of the development of nationalist movements in Europe. It is pointed out that the global disaster started with a seemingly small operation by Austria, which escalated uncontrollably into an all-destroying conflagration. A striking feature of the war was that none of the people who started it had any idea of what it would be like. Technology had changed the character of war, but old patterns of thought remained in place. We also examine the roots of the war in industrial and colonial competition, and in an arms race. Finally, parallels with current events, and the important lessons for today’s world are discussed.