Germany's role can be summarized as follows;
- Germany's growing militarism and desire for territorial expansion. Germany's leaders believed that the country needed to expand its territory and power in order to maintain its status as a great power.
- The system of alliances that Germany constructed, which brought it into conflict with other European powers and increased tensions in the region.
- its imperialistic policies
- Aggressive diplomacy which resulted in the July Crisis
- The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian nationalist, a member of the Black Hand terrorist group funded by German Intelligence which triggered the chain of events leading to war
On the other hand, the United States' involvement in the events leading up to World War I was limited as follows;
- Its role was primarily focused on promoting peace and diplomacy rather than direct involvement in European affairs.
- While maintaining trade relation with Europe, especially as their trade with Britain expanded
- Did not sign any entangling alliances
- Had isolationist sentiments
- Played the mediator as President, Woodrow Wilson tried unsuccessfully to mediate peace efforts. President tried unsuccessfully to media peace efforts
In summary, The United States focused on maintaining neutrality until its entry into the war in 1917 in reaction to events such as unrestricted submarine warfare which resulted in death of US citizens and the Zimmermann Telegram in which Germany secretly attempted to form an alliance with Mexico against The united States. In contrast, Germany actively participated in diplomatic and military developments that heightened tensions in Europe and contributed to the outbreak of conflict