In the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s Europe was on the verge of war.  One of the reasons   why this was happening was that during the late 1800’s there was a rise in militarism, or the glorification of the military. The rise in militarism grew partly out of the ideas of Social Darwinism and his idea of “survival of the fittest”.  Tensions between the nations increased because of this as well. With the tensions between the nations high they went into an arms race and tensions between them increased. The national powers expanded their armies and increased suspicions of other nations which made war more evident.  Another reason that also increased the likelihood of a war was Aggressive Nationalism.  Germany was proud of its new military power and industrial leadership while France was longing to regain its position as Europe’s leading power. Europe at this point was basically a powder keg waiting to explode. It only need something to light it and that came through the assignation of Franz Ferdinand.