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Curzon
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Curzon

Date

January 18th, 2008

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The Origins of World War I

Great graphic from Wikipedia on the web of alliances that resulted in the explosion that was World War I.

400px-wwichartx.png

Comments to this entry

Darin
January 18, 2008
6:47 am
Okay, that's scary. I was just looking at this graphic on wikipedia a few hours ago.
TGGP
January 18, 2008
8:41 am
Either Italy fought on the other side or Hemingway was a liar.
Dan tdaxp
January 18, 2008
1:31 pm
The graphic includes some of the alliances that were not upheld in the end (Italy-Austria, or instance), but ignores the Three Emperor's League, etc.
A.R.Yngve
January 18, 2008
3:19 pm
For more nightmare fodder, feel free to make similar graphs of possible alliances which might trigger war in the future...
Monte Davis
January 18, 2008
3:50 pm
Or, as think I've suggested before, consult Gravity's Rainbow for the story of WWI Brigadier Ernest Pudding:

"He was pensioned off around the beginning of the Great Depression... to go at a spot of combinatorial analysis, that favorite pastime of retired Army officers, with a rattling intense devotion.
It occurred to him to focus his hobby on the European balance of power... He started in on a mammoth work entitled 'Things That Can Happen in European Politics.' Begin, of course, with England. 'First,' he wrote, 'Bereshith, as it were: Ramsay MacDonald can die.' By the time he went through resulting party alignments and possible permutations of cabinet posts, Ramsay MacDonald had died. 'Never make it,' he found himself muttering at the beginning of each day’s work— 'it’s changing out from under me. Oh, dodgy — very dodgy.'"
Curzon
January 18, 2008
5:24 pm
A.R.Yngve: how's this for a start?

scenario1.png
Monte Davis
January 18, 2008
5:35 pm
Clarification: to me, Pudding's mania recalls, e.g., the egregious Kaplan's "When North Korea Falls"

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200610/kaplan-korea

with its extended scenario of the "seven stages of collapse." From Italy 1915 (and 1943) to Baghdad since 2003 to Nairobi and Islamabad next week to the clash of civilizations, I'd dearly love to see more *humility* in our games of "things that can happen."
A.R.Yngve
January 18, 2008
8:17 pm
WAAAAAAAAH!!!
:-O
Rommel
January 20, 2008
1:21 am
Curzon,

Please elaborate on your last graphic..
Are you suggesting Pakistan would - similar to the Balkans in WWI - be the location of the catalyst for war between the West+Japan vs our East Asian adversaries? I imagine India would be involved there too.. perhaps where Pakistan is now?
Rommel
January 21, 2008
2:15 am
I misunderstood the original graphic. It simply represented the web of alliances/treaties.
In the second graphic you are merely stating that Pakistan is aided and supported by two strategically opposing nations. If you still care to elaborate, that'd be great.
Curzon
January 21, 2008
10:58 pm
Well, Pakistan is the only country that comes to mind with massive US and Chinese aid, in various forms. There is no real deep meaning beyond that. Certainly if Pakistan were to implode, the reactions of the US, China and India do seem the most likely catalyst for a great power war in this century.
Michael
January 23, 2008
12:50 am
Meaning that the best approach to such a potential collapse is the same as with NK-- talk with the other powers before-hand to hash out a mutual plan of action. Wait, that would make sense . . .