However, as we have already argued, the balance of power of 1914 differed greatly from the balance of power of 1870. The balance that immediately preceded World War I was a balance of two armed camps--Great Britain, France, and Russia on one side and Germany, Austria-Hungary, and (nominally) Italy on the other side. These permanent partnerships locked policymakers into "blank- checks" of support for their allies in the name of preserving the precarious balance of power. This, in turn, permitted weak nations to act irresponsibly, with the certainty that they would be defended by their more powerful partners. This moral hazard problem explains the Balkan crises of 1874-1913. Combine the belligerent and arrogance of the smaller states with a philosophy of conduct that accepted war and the periphery could easily drag the center into war.

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