Causes of world war 1 ranking ladder 1 assassination 2 militarism 3 alliances 4 imperialism 5 nationalism Reason for the ranking The assassination of the archduke and his wife was the most affected cause of the war because Austria wanted to punish the rebel country’s responsible. Militarism is a big cause because a country would not go to war unless they had a lot of weapons. Alliances give country’s more confidence during the war due to them thinking they have the number advantage. Some people might have a strong sense of Imperialism due to them wanting more power by taking over countries. Nationalism is just people being self-centered with their country.