Historian Duffy explains that the alliance system resulting from nationalism was at fault for bringing forth the scale of the conflict. The core alliances that were made during Bismarck's rule were summoned by Austria-Hungary to gain support from Germany. Austria-Hungary wanted to destroy Serbia. Since Serbia was already allied with Russia, Austria-Hungary could only match Russia and Serbia's power if it allied itself with Germany. In addition, nationalism also drove France and Britain into the alliance system because the two nations wanted to interfere with Germany's growth and restore the balance of power. (Farrar, 121) France and Britain were also nervous about their own nation's national security. Soon a tangle of alliances was set among the European nations. Historian Davies states that vast political forces have created a "geopolitical consensus" in which the nations agreed about the necessity of creating allies. (881) It was this consensus and fear of loosing power that endangered each nation and forced them to make secret alliances that further complicated the alliance system. Many nations entered the war without war aims except to "honor their commitment to an alliance." (Neillands, 21) Each nation feared that they would loose esteem if they didn't join the war. A conflict of alliances that had no flexibility was created and this inevitably brought Europe a step closer to war.
As each nationalistic nation grew stronger, the imperialistic rivalries intensified. The number of colonies a nation had was a substantial indication of the nation's wealth and power. Great Britain, as a leading power, had innumerable colonies. It was known to the world that the "sun never set on Britain." However, Britain's imperialistic dominance was in danger as Germany's nationalistic fervor for imperialism grew. Germany also wanted to join the imperialistic rivalry as a way of exhibiting their power.