Vypuknutie prvej svetovej vojny: príčiny a zámienky

The Outbreak of World War 1: Causes and Pretences

Autor: KOVÁČ Dušan

KOVÁČ, Dušan: Vypuknutie prvej svetovej vojny: príčiny a zámienky

KOVÁČ, Dušan: The Outbreak of World War 1: Causes and Pretences.

Vojenská história, 18, 4, 2014, pp. 29-53.

In his analysis, the author of the paper based his work prevailingly on the interpretation of development and causes of the events connected with the World War 1 published in the voluminous work of the Australian historian and professor at Cambridge University, Christopher Clark: The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. This work, mostly dedicated to German history, after the English and German edition got also published in Czech language. The book attracted interest among historians as well as general public and media, especially in Germany. As one of the main causes of this interest, the author of the study considers the fact that Clark does not deny the guilt of Germany in launching the War but at the same time blames all participating countries, thereby speaking to the German nationalism. In reference to Clark’s conclusions, the author of the study closely monitors the problems regarding interpretation of the outbreak of the War by C. Clark as well as other leading experts on the issue (especially the English, German or Austrian ones). He also deals with the imperial goals of the powers involved in the War, evaluating the discussion on the war goals of these countries, evaluating the interconnection and continuity of the nationalism development with war plans of the participants and questions of political thinking resulting into the “national state” idea. Pointing out to the chain of confl icts leading to the increase of international tension and armament in the last decade preceding the Sarajevo assassination and their brief analysis, the historian Kováč argues with the line of authors who assert that the war outburst unexpectedly without anyone in Europe anticipating it. In the fi nal sections of the study, he manages to persuasively disprove several of Clark’s thesis on the so called “Balkan origin of the War”, pointing out to the diplomatic game of the powers during the July crisis and documents the share of Austria -Hungary and Germany in the launch of the War.

Keywords: Military History. Europe. World War 1 – Causes and Pretences.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.69809/vojhist.2014.18.4.2

Ročník: 18 | Číslo: 4/2014 | Stránky: 29-53