The pursuit of a balance of power in Europe began in the 1870s with the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Otto von Bismarck, the leader of Germany, sought to prevent France from undertaking a war of revenge by isolating France from potential allies. In 1873 Bismarck organized the League of the Three Emperors, a temporary alliance with Austria-Hungary and Russia. The league soon disintegrated, and in 1879 Bismarck organized a new union with Austria, the Dual Alliance. When Italy joined Germany and Austria in 1882, the Triple Alliance was formed. Soon France began negotiations with Russia that resulted in the Dual Alliance of 1894. Great Britain entered the union in 1907, giving birth to the Triple Entente.

Although the alliances were largely intended to preserve peace in Europe by maintaining the balance of power, internal tensions soon weakened both the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, further threatening European stability. In both groups, conflicting territorial ambitions caused dissension and strife between partners. Italy, in fact, moved closer to Britain and France and eventually dropped out of the Triple Alliance. Nevertheless, the uneasy alliances remained largely intact. These tangled relationships between European nations explain why the regional conflict sparked by the assassination of Austria's Archduke Francis Ferdinand in June 1914 quickly escalated into a multinational war involving all of the great European powers. (See also World War I.)