The Great War’s Ominous Echoes

More than 10 million soldiers and many civilians died in the First World War, 1914-1918. An assassination, incidental in the century’s overall history, triggered the massive war spurred by national rivalries and reckless arms race. “The approaching centenary should make us reflect anew on our vulnerability to human error, sudden catastrophes, and sheer accident,” writes author Margaret MacMillan in an opinion essay for the New York Times. She points out that populations were unsettled then: “Globalization — which we tend to think of as a modern phenomenon, created by the spread of international businesses and investment, the growth of the Internet, and the widespread migration of peoples — was also characteristic of that era.” Globalization, then and today, stirs a range of instincts and reactions, from cooperation and trade to parochialism, resentment and war. Avoiding war requires great leadership that avoids hubris, overlooking petty rivalries and unfortunate blunders, to build stable international order. – YaleGlobal