The Outbreak of the First World War

Jack S. Levy is Board of Governors' Professor in the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University. John A. Vasquez is Mackie Scholar in International Relations in the Department of Political Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

'The First World War is a dominant event for subfields in both history and political science. This interdisciplinary revisiting of the causes of the conflict focuses on several enduring and important questions, including the impact of situational and dispositional factors, whether Germany or other states bear primary responsibility, and why the war began in 1914. These serious, scholarly, and timely essays are a valuable addition to multiple research traditions, including international relations theory, security studies, and diplomatic history.' Colin Elman, Maxwell School of Syracuse University

• Part I. Overview of Debates about the Causes of the First World War: 1. Introduction: historians, political scientists, and the causes of the First World War Jack S. Levy and John A. Vasquez; 2. July 1914 revisited and revised: the erosion of the German paradigm Samuel R. Williamson, Jr; Part II. Structure and Agency: 3. Strategic rivalries and complex causality in 1914 Karen Rasler and William R. Thompson; 4. 'A formidable factor in European politics': views of Russia in 1914 T. G. Otte; Part III. The Question of Preventive War: 5. Restraints on preventive war before 1914 William Mulligan; 6. The sources of preventive logic in German decision-making in 1914 Jack S. Levy; 7. International relations theory and the three great puzzles of the First World War Dale C. Copeland; 8. Was the First World War a preventive war? Concepts, criteria, and evidence John A. Vasquez; Part IV. The Role of the Other Powers: 9. War accepted but unsought: Russia's growing militancy and the July Crisis, 1914 Ronald P. Bobroff; 10. France's unreadiness for war in 1914 and its implications for French decision-making in the July Crisis J. F. V. Keiger.