It could be argued that there are four main reasons for the outbreak of World War I in 1914. European countries were forming and reforming alliances with each other and against each other. 'other. Imperialism had many of the great powers extending their country's power and influence through military force or diplomacy. Nationalism was growing and the ideal of independence was evolving. The country's desire to maintain a strong military force and also to be ready to use it to defend or protect national interests was at its peak. It grew over twenty years culminating in the Great War. The following essay provides a brief description of the four main reasons for the outbreak of the war. Militarism played an important role in the period preceding the First World War. By 1914 the French and German armed forces had more than doubled. The German navy was now the second largest in the world and posed a threat to Britain's unchallenged dominance of the seas. It could also be perceived as a threat to Britain's Channel ports. Germany had new military and naval technology which caused fear and apprehension to spread throughout the British public. 'Britain was obviously alarmed. The public wanted more battleships for fear of the rapid growth of the German navy.' Britain retaliated by launching the enormous battleship HMS Dreadnought in 1906 to foster confidence in the British public. Germany "...simultaneously undermined the Royal Navy's long-standing supremacy, inevitably antagonized Britain and ushered in a bitter naval arms race..." There was now an increase in the number of HMS Dreadnoughts class ships put into service. The Kaiser, determined to have the best fleet, ordered an even more prodigious fleet to compete with the British fleet. Meanwhile the Republican France was... a paper center... the result of many events accumulated over a few decades The power struggles that took place in Europe at a time when some countries were losing strength while others were growing economically and politically they are well documented.This can be seen, for example, from the shrinking of the British Empire and the growing power of Germany It could be argued that greed for power and land were the underlying drivers of politics at that time. The rise of nationalism has led to the formation of nationalist groups and secret organizations ready to take violent action to achieve their goals of independence for their country. The naval race which could be seen as Germany's challenge to Britain for supremacy of the canal threatened Britain's security. All of this, combined with the alliances that had formed, makes it difficult to imagine how war would not have been the end result.