The First World War between scholarship and politics : centenary debates in the English-speaking world

This article reviews recent literature on the First World War. The centenary offered an opportunity for reflection and developing new lines of research. The turn to global history was evident in major collaborative research projects, though more established questions such as the origins of the war, wars aims, and the military outcome were the subject of new interpretations. The final section reflects on the public dimensions of the centenary debates about the war and its place in current political debate. [Publishers' text].