The global impact of the First World War dominated the history of the first half of the twentieth century. This major reassessment of the origins of the war, based on extensive original research in several countries is the first full analysis of the politics of armaments in pre-1914 Europe. Drawing on insights from political science, the book offers a fresh conceptual framework for the origins of the First World War, and provides a thought-provoking case-study of the broader relationships between armaments and international conflict.