Although almost a century passed since the First World War, some historians are still wondering if the conflict could have been prevented. When the war erupted in 1914 nothing could have prevented the world conflagration. If there was ever a moment prevention was possible it would have been in the 19th century. The dawn of the 20th century dragged with it unresolved problems from the previous century. Although at that time Europe still dominated the world, captive nations still exited, subdued by the multinational empires. Most of the European nations did not solve yet their national problems at that time, being assimilated and forced to denationalization. This situation extended until the war started in 1914 and was temporarily resolved at the end of it in 1918. The conflict between the big European powers however was of course a consequence of concrete issues, such as the domination of the continent, the control of some vital regions of the world, the expansion and preservation of the colonial empires, the control and access to resources of various kinds, aggravation of the national ego in regard to the enemy’s etc. But beyond the many causes and conditions, the catastrophe became inevitable because of the exacerbated, outward oriented nationalism that caused hate and phobia between nations.
Manole, Gica. The First World War: A Long-Waited Conflict, 2010. (February 1, 2011). Electronic resource retrieved from http://gicamanole.blogspot.com/2010/05/primul-razboi-mondial-un-conflict.html