What were the short-term causes of World War I?

The Industrial Revolution had a profound effect on Europe. The Industrial Revolution was an important component of many of the other causes of the Great War. Industrialism created a system of uneven wealth in Europe. The nations that industrialized gained an economic advantage over those that did not. The industrialized nations competed for scarce resources in an effort to become more powerful than their rivals.

In a quest for these scarce resources, industrial powers sought to establish colonies in order to fuel their industries. By the late 1800's, this theater was on the continent of Africa. Disputes over boundaries and lands in Africa threatened to plunge Europe into war during this period. This rivalry for resources, economic prosperity, and nationalist glory ultimately led to World War I.  In an effort to protect themselves from aggression, industrial nations formed alliances with their primary trade partners. These alliances insured that a minor dispute between two countries could result in a continental war.  This system of alliances was an important short term cause of World War I.  

The immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the hands of a member of a Serbian separatist group. This action caused Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia, which was backed by Russia. Russia's declaration of war against Austria-Hungary motivated other nations that were bound by alliances to enter the war.

What are the short-term causes of World War I?

What ultimately triggered the conflict was, of course, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. But the immediate cause of World War I was the complex system of diplomatic alliances that had been painstakingly constructed over the course of the previous century.

Ever since the defeat of Napoleon, European powers had been convinced of the benefit of mutual alliances between nations. They believed that such agreements would make it harder for one nation to cause as much havoc and upheaval in Europe as Revolutionary and Napoleonic France had done. The thinking behind the alliance system was that it would provide a balance of power in Europe. It was believed that large states would be reluctant to attack smaller ones if they were under the protection of other large states under this system.

In theory, this seemed the perfect solution to the massive upheaval and disruption caused by French armies from the Revolution onward. In practice, however, the system of alliances ignored the facts that the precise boundaries of nations could not always be determined with any degree of accuracy and that ethnic nationalism often transcended borders. So, in 1914, when Serbia found itself subjected to impossible demands by Austro-Hungary and its German allies, it was inevitable that the Russians would intervene on behalf of their fellow Slavs. Soon, other nations piled into the incipient conflict, fulfilling commitments to mutual assistance treaties that they never thought would come to fruition.

What were the causes of World War I in Europe?

There were many causes of World War I.  Historians often point to three major causes.

Nationalism.  This helped to cause the war in at least two ways.  First, it tied the Germans and Austrians on the one side, and the Russians and Serbs on the other, together in strong alliances based on ethnicity.  Second, it led to Slavic nationalist upheaval within Austria-Hungary.  This led to the killing of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which set off the war.

Militarism.  There was a cult of military power in many European countries at this time.  Countries felt that their military strength was a source of national pride.  This was particularly strong in Germany as the Kaiser strengthened his military in an attempt to get Germany its “place in the sun.”  This glorification of military strength made war more likely.

Imperialism.  There was a great deal of competition between countries for empire.  They felt empires were sources of national pride as well as important economic assets.  This competition helped to create bad feelings that led to war.