This section deals with the shorter- and longer-term origins of the First World War. It covers the breakdown of European diplomacy pre‑1914 and the crises that occurred in international relations. It covers how the practice of war affected the military and home fronts. The section also investigates reasons for the Allied victory/Central Powers’ defeat.

European diplomacy and the changing balance of power after 1871; imperial expansion in Africa and Asia, and its impact on European diplomacy; the Congress of Berlin and European Alliance system
Foreign policy of Kaiser Wilhelm II: domestic conditions that impacted on German foreign policy; its impact/influence on other countries, including Britain, France, Russia and Austria-Hungary
Causes of the First World War: short- and long-term causes; relative importance of causes; the Alliance system; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; German foreign policy; Austria-Hungary, Russia and Balkan nationalism; the arms race and diplomatic crises; the July Crisis of 1914
Impact of the First World War on civilian populations of two countries from the region between 1914 and 1918
Factors leading to the defeat of Germany and the other Central Powers, and to the victory of the Entente Powers: strategic errors; economic factors; entry and role of the US; domestic instability in the Central Powers

(source: IB History Guide)