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UPSC Mains 2024 · GS Paper I · Q12

UPSC Mains 2024 GS1 Q12: model answer

How far is it correct to say that the First World War was fought essentially for the preservation of balance of power?

15 marks250 wordsDirective: How far

What the question wants

Assess balance of power as the cause of WWI against other causes.

How to structure it

Intro: The First World War (1914–18) broke out after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo. Body: (1) Evidence for the statement; (2) Other causes (imperial rivalry, militarism, nationalism); (3) Assessment. Conclusion: So the statement is partly true.

How to structure the answer
IntroductionThe First World War (1914–18) broke out after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo
Main body
  1. 1(1) Evidence for the statement
  2. 2(2) Other causes (imperial rivalry, militarism, nationalism)
  3. 3(3) Assessment
ConclusionSo the statement is partly true

Model answer

The First World War (1914–18) broke out after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo in June 1914. Whether it was fought mainly to preserve the balance of power is debated.

Evidence for the statement

  • Europe was divided into the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy) and the Triple Entente (Britain, France, Russia).
  • Britain's traditional policy was to stop any single power dominating the continent; a German victory over France would upset this.
  • Russia backed Serbia to stop Austria-Hungary dominating the Balkans.
  • Germany feared encirclement and wanted to break it.

Other causes

  • Imperial rivalry: colonies, Moroccan crises (1905, 1911).
  • Militarism: Anglo-German naval race; rigid mobilisation plans like the Schlieffen Plan.
  • Nationalism: Pan-Slavism, French desire to recover Alsace-Lorraine, Serbian nationalism.
  • Immediate trigger: Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium brought Britain in.
  • Later goals: secret treaties shared territory; Woodrow Wilson spoke of making the world safe for democracy.

Assessment

  • Balance of power explains why a local Balkan crisis turned into a general war, through alliances.
  • But it does not explain the war's causes fully; imperialism, nationalism and militarism created the tension.
  • The Treaty of Versailles (1919) itself was about punishment and territory, not balance.

So the statement is partly true. Balance of power was the framework, but rivalries of empire and nation provided the fuel.

Keywords, cases and data to drop in

Triple Alliance and Entente balance of power Schlieffen Plan imperialism nationalism Belgium

Where most answers lose marks

  • Narrating events without judging 'how far'.

Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/QP_CSM_2024_GenStud_I_03102024.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.