The war of 1914: a review from the present time perspective

Abstract

The present paper puts forth several different, alternative interpretations about the origins of the First World War, looks at the chronological boundaries of that conflict from a non-Eurocentric perspective, and discusses the impact, and the far-reaching consequences, of the First World War on later conflicts. It seems evident that the historical knowledge gained during the past one hundred years, and the larger knowledge we have of the historical experience of other [non-European] peoples, should allow us to achieve a more extensive-and at the same time multifaceted- analysis of a conflagration that changed the course of history beyond the borders of the old continent. This paper proposes a reflection on the relationships between the Great War and the Cold War, through the study of contingency plans, and concepts such as «the inevitability of war», «the war to end all wars» or strategic draw. We also discuss the projection of that First World War over conflicts in the Arab world, decolonization, and the effects of that phase of the First World War which was the revolutionary war associated with the Bolshevik revolution, a conflict that extended far beyond 1918.