Britain and the Origins of the First World War

ISBN-13: 9780333734674 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 341 str.

Zara S. Steiner; Keith Neilson

Opis

Taking into account the scholarship of the last 20 years, this new edition rejects recent arguments that Britain went to war out of either weakness, fear of an "invented" German menace, or fears for the Empire. Instead, while placing greater emphasis than before on the role of Russia, Zara S. Steiner and Keith Neilson maintain the view that Britain was forced into the war in order to preserve the European balance of power and Britain's favorable position within it.

Spis treści

Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Introduction.- The Conservative Watershed.- The Diplomatic Response.- Britain and Germany: The Myth of Rivalry?.- Britain and Russia: The Troubled Partnership.- Britain, Germany and France, 1912-14: Flexibility and Constraint.- The Balkans, Russia and Germany, 1912-14.- The Domestic Contest: Liberal Politics and Conservative Pressure.- The Professional Influence: Diplomats and Officers.- The July Crisis.- Conclusion.- Chronological Table.- Bibliography.- Notes and References.- Index.

O autorze

ZARA S. STEINER is Emeritus Fellow of New Hall, University of Cambridge.

KEITH NEILSON is Professor of History at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Blurb

How and why did Britain become involved in the First World War? Taking into account the scholarship of the last twenty-five years, this second edition of Zara S. Steiner's classic study, thoroughly revised with Keith Neilson, explores a subject which is as highly contentious as ever.

While retaining the basic argument that Britain went to war in 1914 not as a result of internal pressures but as a response to external events, Steiner and Neilson reject recent arguments that Britain became involved because of fears of an 'invented' German menace, or to defend her Empire. Instead, placing greater emphasis than before on the role of Russia, the authors convincingly argue that Britain entered the war in order to preserve the European balance of power and the nation's favourable position within it.

Lucid and comprehensive, Britain and the Origins of the First World War brings together the bureaucratic, diplomatic, economic, strategical and ideological factors that led to Britain's entry into the Great War, and remains the most complete survey of the pre-war situation.