World War I: M.A.I.N. Definitions

Militarism:

•     Strengthening a nation's army and navy to protect its interests.

•     As one country strengthens its army, another follows.

                    -Causes an arms race

Alliance System:

• •Defense agreements among nations.

  - Triple Alliance - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

  - Triple Entente (understanding among nations) - Great Britain, France, Russia

   

• An attack on one country would cause a war involving many countries.

Imperialism:

• A nation's desire to expand its empires; gaining access to new markets and raw materials

            -Great Britain and France already had overseas empires.  However, they wanted more.

            -Germany, Italy, and Russia wanted to expand  their empires, but territory was scarce.

Nationalism:

• An intense loyalty to one country or ethnic group.

            -Ethnic Group: people who share a common language or traditions.

• Encourages nations to unify and become powerful (Germany and Italy) and to challenge existing nations (France and Britain)

• Inspires ethnic groups to declare independence

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