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...as behind the killing and declared war on Serbia. Nationalism The Archduke’s assassination sparked the war, but there were other reasons for the war. Nationalism is a pride or love for one’s nation. That form of patriotism increased the possibility of war because a nation’s goals constantly came into arguments with the goals of other nations. This was one of the greatest reasons for the war. Though they were small wars going on, Europe avoided major wars in the years preceding the beginning of World War I. Nationalism exists among people who share a common language, history, or culture. These people started thinking of themselves as members of a higher group or party. Though, nationalism weakened the eastern European empires of Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Ottoman Turkey. These empires ruled many different people who wanted independence. Militarism In addition to the assassination and nationalism, militarism was another cause of the war. Militarism is the glorification of armed strength or a build-up of a strong national army. This took place in the European countries before the war broke out. Nationalism led up to militarism. This is so because nationalism encouraged public support for military build-ups and for a country’s use of force to achieve its goals. Germany in the late 1800's had the best-trained army in the world and served as an example of militarism to other countries. Imperialism Imperialism was another cause of the war. It was the build-up of colonies. In the early 1900's, European nations had nearly all of Africa and much of Asia in her colonies. Europe’s increasing industrialization was the cause of rapidly growing colonies. The colonies supplied the European nations with raw materials for factories, markets for manufactured goods, and hope for investments. But the competition for colonies worsened the relations with the European countries. Alliance System The alliance system is also one of the causes of...