PART ONE ― THE POWERS 1. Germany: Encircled by Enemies or Grasping at World Power? - Holger Afflerbach and Alexandre Pijade Chiaramonte 2. Austria-Hungary: Dynastic Decline or Multinational Exemplar? - John Deak 3. France: Revanchist or Status Quo State? - Peter Jackson 4. The United Kingdom: 'Free Hand' or Committed to the Entente? - John W. Young 5. Russia: Balkan Hegemon or Cautious Conservative? - Ronald Bobroff 6. A 'Besieged' Historiography: Serbia and the July Crisis - Danilo Šarenac PART TWO ― THE TENSIONS 7. The Anglo-German Antagonism: Real or Imagined? - Dominik Geppert and Andreas Rose 8. The Alliance System: Surprisingly Peaceful or Cause of War? - Friedrich Kießling 9. The Arms Race: Did it Matter? - Matthew S. Seligmann 10. Did Mobilization Have to Mean War? War Plans and the Origins of World War I - John W. Steinberg PART THREE ― THE UNDERLYING FORCES 11. Domestic Politics: Primacy or Incidental? - Jérôme aan de Wiel 12. Popular Reactions to the Outbreak of War, 1914 - William Mulligan 13. Nationalism: Liberation and Expansion - Rolf Hobson References
Biography
Gordon Martel is Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria and Emeritus Professor at the University of Northern British Columbia. He was one of three founding editors of The International History Review and is the editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Diplomacy. He specializes in European diplomacy, 1900–1945 with particular attention to the origins and crises leading to the First and Second World Wars. His publications include The Month That Changed the World: July 1914 and, co-authored with the late James Joll, The Origins of the First World War (fourth edition, Routledge).
'In this volume, renowned historian Gordon Martel has assembled a range of scholars addressing the origins and outbreak of the war in light of recently discovered documents and important reassessments of existing literature. The Origins of the First World War Reconsidered is certain to provide fresh and very welcome light on the actions of the major players leading up to and including the catastrophe of 1914.'
Paul R. Bartrop, Professor Emeritus of History, Florida Gulf Coast University
