To what extent were alliances a cause of WWI?

Out of Imperialism, Alliances, Militarism and Nationalism, it is of my opinion that the alliances were one of the most significant causes of WW1.The reason being that it was really due to the alliances that there was such a profound dichotomy between the significant European countries. Without these alliances, WW1 would probably have been a much smaller scale war between only two or so countries. Since attributing one of the causes of WW1 to the dichotomy and tension in Europe at that time, one coud go a step further and claim that the three major alliances and the resulting relations between them were primary contributors in establishing the climatic events that led up to WW1.The three alliances were the Three Emperors League, the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance.

The Three Emperors League included Austria, Hungary, Germany and Russia and was established in 1872. This alliance was created mainly for the purpose (at least from Bismarck's point of view) of isolating France and ensuring that Russia could not create an alliance with her, particularly after France wanted revenge on Germany after the Franco Prussian War. Despite this alliance Russia and Serbia still had tensions between them which eventually led to the disintegration and the eventual demise of the Three Emperors League. This had the effect of the creation of more alliances such as the Triple and Dual Entente and the Entente Cordiale.

The Triple Entente was established in 1907 and included Britain, France and Russia. The Triple Entente was composed of the Dual Entente and the Entente Cordiale. The Dual Entente consisted of France and Russia and was established in 1893. This was created due to the isolation felt by both countries. The Entente Cordial was an alliance forged between France and Britain in 1904 and this was created because France still harboured hostilities towards Germany and used this alliance to weaken Germany's relations with other countries. It was also beneficial for Britain because although the Britain had maintained a policy of "splendid isolation", the prevailing situation in Europe triggered the forming of an alliance for the sake of protection. When the Dual Entente and the Entente Cordiale were in place, Germany fearing for its own safety, attempted to create tensions between France and Britain by disrupting the Moroccan clauses of the Entente Cordiale by pushing for Moroccan independance. This only served to further isolate Germany while the Entente Cordiale became stronger than ever before.

The Triple Alliance was the other major alliance in Europe at the time of WWI. It consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy. The alliance was at first called the Dual Alliance, consisting only of Austria-Hungary and Germany, however in 1879 was joined by Italy to create the Triple Alliance. This alliance led to France feeling isolated and therefore creating alies with Britain and France.

Upon Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, the alliance system ignited.When hearing of Austria’s declaration of war Russia immediately mobilized their forces to support Serbia. This mobilization occurred not just on the Austria border, but also on the German frontier. In support of Austria and for its own protection, Germany demanded that Russia demobilize her forces. Since Russia refused to do so Germany declared war on Russia on August 1st 1914. France refused neutrality and therefore Germany declared war on France on August 3rd. This led Britain to declare war on Germany and since Japan was allied with Britain, Japan also declared war on Germany.

The repercussions of each alliance led to a large scale war. One which divided Europe between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Italy and Britain, France, and Russia. Without all the alliances perhaps there would have been a much smaller scale war between just Austria-Hungary and Serbia.

It is for this reason that the alliances in Europe are the prominent cause of World War 1.