How did World War I turn into a global war?

There
were a number of catalysts, political realities, nation-state alliances, and series of cause and
effect events that resulted in the enormous size, scope, and scale of . Decades of historical
context is important to understand when looking at how so many countries became involved in
fighting in World War I. Since the year 1871, Germany had been growing in power and influence in
Central Europe. As the emerging nation-state began forming strategic alliances with
Austria-Hungary and Italy, many Western European nations, as well as Russia, became concerned
with Germany's growing consolidation of power and political alliances. As such, France and
Russia entered into political alliance, and while France and Britain were consistently on the
verge of aggression, the two nations entered in a political agreement to protect themselves from
the growing power of the German bloc.

By 1904, these political alliances
between countries were firmly in place. In the midst of these ever...