Origins of War World I Many would like to contribute the assassination of Austrian throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, as the inevitable mark of the start of World War I. There had been many assassinations of leaders during this time, none starting a war of this magnitude. In reality, there were many underlying causes that ensured the start of World War I upon this particular assassination. There was an outbreak of nationalism because of newly formed nation-states that had everyone searching for their independence throughout Europe but with the disbursement of people, made it almost impossible to give everything they wanted. Disagreement within countries also manifested due to the needs of the people being untaken care of which eventually led to the growth of militaries and their role in War World I. Europe was divided into multiple nation-states in an attempt to unify them through a sense of international togetherness, instead of that happening; nation-states became very competitive with each other (Western Civilization, 877.) In a time of expansion, commercial interest became more important than those of nation-state. Rivalries eventually split Europe’s biggest powers into two separate alliances with Germany, Austria and Italy together and then France, Great Britain and Russia on the other side. This added a significant amount of tension between the territories. As a series of conflicts arose between the alliances, it became important that the nation-states save face and learn to act accordingly (Western Civilization, 877.). It was found after a few crises, that a nation who use restraint to avoid war, were seen as weak. In order to prevent this, nations found it was better to push the issue to the brink of war and preserve their national interest and also be seen as a nation that doesn’t back down, even if it means doing something that may backfire. Each