1. The New Imperialism and the Spread of Europe's Population
   Emigration, conquest, and colonization brought Western nations new non-Western territories, popular acclaim at home, and the transfer of millions of Europeans overseas.
   1. Economic and Social Motives
      Westerners prized colonies as ready markets, sources of vital raw materials, and outlets for domestic tensions.
   2. Nationalistic Motives
      Britain's vast empire spurred its European rivals to seize strategic colonial holdings in Africa and Asia.
   3. Other Ideological Motives
      Imperialism assumed the aspect of a heroic mission with the justifications of Social Darwinism.
   4. Conquest, Administration, and Westernization
      Although critics decried brutality and excess, most Westerners implicitly believed in the benefit of technological, social, political, and cultural imperialism.
   5. Overseas Migrations and the Spread of European Values
      A flood of Europeans brought their ethnic traditions as they immigrated to the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand.
2. From Optimism to Anxiety: Politics and Culture
   Confidence in the promise of progress and liberalism faded as irrationality and pessimism expressed the spirit of the age.
   1. The Erosion of the Liberal Consensus
      Important economic and political exceptions to liberal practice revealed weaknesses in the dominant ideology.
   2. The Growth of Socialism and Anarchism
      Wooing the workers and the disaffected, socialists and anarchists disrupted the political and social status quo.
   3. The New Right, Racism, and AntiSemitism
      Theories of racial purity led to renewed attack on Jewish citizens and their civil rights.
   4. Irrationality and Uncertainty
      The works of Freud, Gauguin, Nietzsche, and Einstein undermined the certainty and rationalism of earlier generations.
3. Vulnerable Democracies
   Struggling to satisfy large and volatile electorates, Western democracies floundered in the face of increasingly violent opposition.
   1. Great Britain
      Polarized by the prospect of Irish home rule, women's suffrage, and parliamentary reform, Britain's government struggled to maintain order.
   2. France
      The tragedy of the Dreyfus Affair revealed the deep ideological divisions between liberal reform and defensive conservatism in French society.
   3. Italy
      Troubled by population growth and indifferent industrial opportunities, labor protests handicapped the government.
4. Autocracies in Crisis
   Fewer options for legitimate dissent led to disorder, resistance, and rebellion in these imperial nations.
   1. Germany
      William II's plans for foreign expansion won praise, but his domestic policies won harsh opposition from labor activists and socialists.
   2. AustriaHungary
      Nationalism and class antagonism exacerbated political tensions despite attempts to widen parliamentary suffrage.
   3. The Ottoman Empire
      Ethnic minorities languished under the program of "Turkification" while the empire's neighbors seized the Ottomans' European holdings.
   4. Russia
      The tsar's government fought to maintain control despite military crises, the pressures of rapid modernization, and violent radical opposition including that of Lenin's Bolsheviks.
5. The Coming War
   Dangerous disaffection fostered by the European powers led nations to the brink of an unwanted conflict.
   1. Power Alignments
      Seeking mutual protection, nations slowly split into the rival factions of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.
   2. The Momentum Toward War
      Colonial disputes, escalating arms races, and crises in the Balkans culminating with the assassination of the Habsburg heir hurtled Europe into war.