Militarism is the belief that a nation should build up a strong military and be willing to use it aggressively to advance national interests. In AP World, it's a core cause of both World War I (Topic 7.2) and World War II (Topic 7.6), where the CED highlights the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany.
Militarism is more than just having a big army. It's a mindset where a society glorifies military strength, pours money into weapons, and treats war as a legitimate (even preferable) tool of foreign policy instead of a last resort after diplomacy fails. When militarism takes hold, generals gain political influence, war plans get drawn up in peacetime, and backing down starts to look like weakness.
In AP World, militarism shows up twice in Unit 7. Before World War I, European powers raced to build bigger armies and navies (think the Anglo-German naval rivalry), which made the continent a powder keg waiting for a spark. Before World War II, the CED specifically points to the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, where fascist regimes built their entire political identity around rearmament, conquest, and the glorification of war. Same concept, two wars, which is exactly why it's such a useful term for continuity arguments.
Militarism lives in Unit 7 (Global Conflict, 1900-Present) and directly supports two learning objectives. AP World 7.2.A asks you to explain the causes and consequences of World War I, where militarism combined with imperialism, nationalism, and a flawed alliance system to escalate regional conflicts into global war. AP World 7.6.A asks the same for World War II, and the essential knowledge names the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany as a driving cause alongside the unsustainable WWI peace settlement and the Great Depression. If you've heard the MAIN acronym for WWI causes (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, Nationalism), militarism is the M. The exam loves causation questions about both wars, so being able to explain how militarism interacted with the other causes is high-value.
Keep studying AP World Unit 7
Arms Race (Unit 7)
An arms race is militarism in action. Before WWI, Britain and Germany competed to build the biggest navy, and each new battleship made the other side feel less safe. Militarism is the belief; the arms race is what it looks like when two countries hold that belief at the same time.
Alliance System (Unit 7)
Militarism made the alliance system dangerous. Alliances alone don't cause wars, but when every alliance member has a massive army and a pre-written war plan, one assassination in Sarajevo can drag the whole continent into conflict within weeks.
Adolf Hitler and Fascism (Unit 7)
The CED ties WWII's outbreak to the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany under Hitler. Fascist regimes didn't just maintain large militaries; they made rearmament and conquest the core of their politics, openly violating the post-WWI peace settlement.
Imperialism (Units 6-7)
Militarism and imperialism fed each other. Empires needed armies and navies to grab and hold colonies, and military buildups needed colonial resources to fund them. The 2024 DBQ on Japanese imperialism circa 1900-1945 sits right at this intersection.
Militarism shows up most often in multiple-choice causation questions about World War I, with stems like "What role did militarism play in increasing tensions among European powers before WWI?" You need to do more than define it. Be ready to explain how it interacted with other causes, like how arms buildups in Germany worsened tensions alongside imperial rivalries. On the free-response side, militarism is strong evidence for SAQs and DBQs on 20th-century conflict. The 2024 SAQ used a 1932 Nazi election poster, and the 2024 DBQ asked about the causes of Japanese imperialism from 1900-1945; in both cases, militarism is exactly the kind of analytical category that earns points. For DBQ complexity, try comparing militarism's role in 1914 versus the 1930s.
Nationalism is intense pride in and loyalty to your nation; militarism is the belief that military force is the way to serve that nation. They usually travel together, since nationalist fervor justifies military spending, but they're separate causes in the CED. A country can be nationalist without glorifying war (think cultural pride), and the AP exam treats them as distinct factors in the MAIN causes of WWI. If a question is about identity and pride, that's nationalism; if it's about armies, arms races, and war readiness, that's militarism.
Militarism is the belief that a nation should build strong military forces and be ready to use them aggressively, prioritizing war readiness over diplomacy.
Militarism is the M in the MAIN causes of World War I, working alongside alliances, imperialism, and nationalism to turn a regional crisis into a global war (LO 7.2.A).
The CED names the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany under Hitler as a major cause of World War II, alongside the failed peace settlement and the Great Depression (LO 7.6.A).
Militarism rarely acts alone on the exam; the strongest answers explain how it interacted with arms races, alliances, and imperial competition.
Because militarism caused both world wars, it's excellent evidence for continuity arguments across the 1900-1945 period in DBQs and LEQs.
Militarism is the belief that a country should maintain strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. In AP World, it's a core cause of both World War I (Topic 7.2) and World War II (Topic 7.6) in Unit 7.
Not by itself. The CED frames WWI as the result of multiple interacting causes: imperialist competition, territorial conflicts, a flawed alliance system, and intense nationalism alongside militarism. The best exam answers explain how militarism combined with these factors rather than crowning one single cause.
Nationalism is pride in and loyalty to your nation; militarism is the belief that military force should serve and protect it. They reinforced each other before 1914, but the AP exam counts them as separate causes of WWI.
The CED specifically cites the aggressive militarism of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, which rose alongside fascist and totalitarian regimes after the unsustainable WWI peace settlement and the Great Depression. Germany's rearmament and expansionist aggression in the 1930s directly led to war in 1939.
Yes. It appears in multiple-choice questions about the causes of WWI and supports free-response questions on 20th-century conflict, like the 2024 DBQ on Japanese imperialism circa 1900-1945 and the 2024 SAQ built around a 1932 Nazi election poster.