Contribution to war

Militarism was a significant force in Europe in the 1800s and early 1900s. Many European governments were strongly influenced, if not dominated, by military leaders, interests and priorities. Generals and admirals sometimes acted as de facto government ministers, advising political leaders, influencing domestic policy and demanding increases in defence and arms spending.

This rising militarism fathered a dangerous child, an arms race, which gave rise to new military technologies and increased defence spending. Militarism affected more than policy – it also shaped culture, the media and public opinion. The press held up military leaders as heroes, painted rival nations as aggressive and regularly engaged in ‘war talk’.

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Militarism alone did not start World War I – that first required a flashpoint and a political crisis – but it created an environment where war, rather than negotiation or diplomacy, was considered the best way of dealing with foreign rivals and settling international disputes.

Links with nationalism and imperialism

Militarism, nationalism and imperialism were all intrinsically connected. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, military power was considered a measure of national and imperial strength. A powerful state needed a powerful military to protect its interests and support its policies. Strong armies and navies were needed to defend the homeland, to protect imperial and trade interests abroad, and to deter threats and rivals.

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War was avoided where possible but it could also be used to advance a nation’s political or economic interests. As the famous Prussian theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote in 1832, war was “a continuation of policy by other means”.

In the 19th century European mind, politics and military power became inseparable, in much the same way that politics and economic management have become inseparable in the modern world. Governments and leaders who failed to maintain armies and navies capable of enforcing the national will were considered weak or incompetent.

“The belief in war as a test of national power and a proof of national superiority added a scientific base to the cult of patriotism… In Britain, a real effort was made to teach boys that success in war depended upon the patriotism and military spirit of the nation, and that preparation for war would strengthen ‘manly virtue’ and ‘patriotic ardour’.” Zara Steiner, historian

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