The First World War in a Global Perspective

The First World War constitutes the first real global war in world history. It was also carried out outside of Europe, was linked to extra-European conflicts, and increasingly took on the traits of a world-wide economic war. The First World War profoundly changed the global political and economic power relations. In addition, the resources of the British and French colonial empires and the United States were mobilized for the conflict and were brought to bear on the side of the Allies. It was, moreover, a global media event that was observed, debated, and analyzed from the outset in many parts of the non-European world. At the same time, not only did the image of Europe change greatly, but so did the perception of its own culture and its potential in various non-European regions. From a global perspective, an expansion of “First World War Studies” consequently seems long overdue, one that not only examines the frequently still underestimated contribution of non-European regions to the European core conflict, but also the complex consequences of the world war for the non-European world, which have only been insufficiently researched.