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The World at the beginning of the twentieth century was a very different place from what is was to be two generations later. "Primarily this was so because Europe was still the center of the universe, both politically and economically, and Europe was still in the main the Europe of the ancien régime." (Petrie 7). By the year 1901, Europe's nineteenth-century promises had become substantial realities: the nation state, constitutional government, and a …

…shattering were heard throughout the world as Europe collapsed into total war. These echoes were the sound of change as Europe was transformed socially, politically, economically, and intellectually into a machine of complete destruction. Europe would never be the same again. Military alliances resulting in Germany's encirclement, diplomatic mistakes, the arms race, imperial rivalries, and immediate causes combined to cause World War I. Each was a significant factor; no one cause was the sole foundation.