The Triple Entente, the Triple Alliance, the Dual Entente, the League of 3 Emperors; All are complicated political agreements that seemed to ally nations based on the politics of the moment yet, ultimately set the stage for World War I. I often find myself confused by these agreements. However, it is these very alliances that seem so crucially important in establishing the cause and the outcome of World War I. As a student, I find descriptions of World War I and World War II in American history often seem somewhat lacking because they only superficially examine the crucial element of European politics that led to World War. As an American, I find myself feeling distinctly isolated from modern European culture yet at the same time inevitably linked to it both historically through the settling of the American colonies and also in modern culture and literature. Today, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter seems to allude to World War I with Dumbledore's flicking on and off of the lights near Harry's house like the "Lamps . . going out," in World War I. World War I and World War II clearly had an important effect on world politics and power that ultimately helped volt the U.S. to becoming a superpower and led to the world as we know it today. These are just a few ways the political maneuvering leading to World War I had a greater affect on the modern world than at first seems apparent and calls one to examine how the unique dynamics of European politics inevitably affected America and still plays a crucial role in America today.
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