Britain and the origins of the First World War / Zara S. Steiner and Keith Neilson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Steiner, Zara.

Contributor:

Neilson, Keith.

Series:

Making of the 20th century (Palgrave Macmillan (Firm))

The Making of the 20th century

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1914-1918--Causes.

World War, 1914-1918.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--1901-1910.

Great Britain.

International relations.

Great Britain--Foreign relations--1910-1936.

Physical Description:

vii, 341 pages ; 23 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Summary:

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 its pre-war situation.

Contents:

1 The Conservative Watershed 5

2 The Diplomatic Response 23

3 Britain and Germany: The Myth of Rivalry? 44

4 Britain and Russia: The Troubled Partnership 84

5 Britain, Germany and France, 1912-14: Flexibility and Constraint 100

6 The Balkans, Russia and Germany, 1912-14 117

7 The Domestic Contest: Liberal Politics and Conservative Pressure 136

8 The Professional Influence: Diplomats and Officers 182

9 The July Crisis 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [284]-329) and index.

ISBN:

0333734661

033373467X

OCLC:

50410189