Session 13: Attacking, not the best strategy.

                Stephen Van Evera in his article “The Cult of the offensive and the Origins of the First World War” attempt to show that the mindset prevailing in European countries just before the period of First World War was promoting offensive policies over defensive one. The author stated many examples to show that this mentality was the main reason of First World War.

                Germany and other European countries thought that offensive approach was the way to go about for survival and more secure conditions. German leaders thought that it was a do or die condition for Germany, which means Russia would rule anyways if we did not take action. Out of many prewar statements of German leaders and intellectuals stated in the article one was “Germany will be a World Power or nothing”. This feeling was the consequences of the mentality that “attack is the best defense”. However, they did not realize that this mentality or knowledge is a shared one. How can one state expect to attain peace when the other state could do the same? Man or states are selfish but rational enough to know that what is good in long run. Therefore they were intelligent enough to realize that the strategy of “attacking” also puts the states into a vulnerable position by promoting a hostile environment where they can be subject to violent strikes from the other states as well.

                Thus in conclusion the writer’s attempts to explain the cause and dynamics of the events preceding World War I give a different dimension to understand the causes of World War I.