Nationalism and extreme patriotism were significant contributing factors to the outbreak of World War I. Every one of Europe’s Great Powers developed a firm but excessive belief in its own cultural, economic and military supremacy. This over-confidence gave birth to a fatal misconception: that in the event of war in Europe, one’s own country would be victorious inside a few months. This arrogance was fuelled by the jingoistic press in every country. The pages of newspapers, even usually sedate broadsheets, were often packed with stories and editorials filled with nationalist rhetoric and ‘sabre-rattling’. Heightened nationalism could also be found in other cultural expressions, like literature, music and theatre. European populations became convinced of two things: that their nations and governments were right and that their military would win any conflict. As these attitudes hardened, the likelihood of war increased. Royals, politicians and diplomats did little to defuse the public appetite for war, and some actively contributed to it with provocative commentary or belligerent policy.
London spent most of the 19th century purposefully avoiding wars however the unification of Germany, the pace of German armament and the bellicose remarks of Kaiser Wilhelm II gave much cause for concern.
German nationalism was predicated on the belief that Britain sought to deprive Germany of her place in the sun.
China, a nation with more than 400 million people, had been carved up and economically ravaged by several European powers; this instigated the formation of secret and exiled nationalist groups who wanted to free China from foreign influence.
The Germans placed great store in their policy of armament, their growing fleet of dreadnoughts (battleships) and Prussian military training and efficiency; the German high commands confidence was predicated upon its bold but decisive Schlieffen Plan.
By 1910 one could buy dozens of tawdry examples of invasion literature; each told of German, Russian or French aggression or under-handedness against England and her interests.
As a consequence, German nationalism had a political purpose: it was the glue that bound together these disparate states: Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse, Baden, Brunswick and others.
Penny novelists and cartoonists mocked the rulers of these countries; the German kaiser and the Russian tsar chiefly for their ambition, arrogance or megalomania.
Britain ;penny press; (serialised novels and short stories) fueled rivalry with Russia and Germany by publishing incredulous fiction about foreign intrigue, espionage and future war.
Symbols like the British lion and the German eagle were an ever-present part of pre-war nationalism