Upon looking back at the years of World War I, it is noticeable that there was not one sole factor responsible for the war, but there were many causes of it. It can be seen that the three key factors in causing the war were the imperialistic competition between many of the European nations, the arms race, and the alliance system.

First of all, one major cause of World War I was the imperialistic competition between the European nations. Just about every country was out to gain some land in order to expand its empire and increase its power. Germany invaded neutral Belgium. France wanted back land in Germany that it had lost in the Franco-Prussian. Russia was out to claim the Balkans, which was controlled by Austria-Hungary, so that it could have a great trade route to Europe. The there was Austria-Hungary who was determined to get...