"World War in World History" Document Analysis

Prompt: To what extent was WWI a global war? Why did most Asians fight for the allies if they were pro-German?

Answer: World War I was a global war with respect to the nationality of the members fighting the war, even though it seemed to fit the qualifications of an "European civil war" from the perspective of Asians.  The "internal character" of World War I can be attributed to the fact that the only countries engaged in war were those of Europe.  Though Asia and the United States both had prominent roles in the war, they in aspect played mere supporting positions of the larger European powers around which the crux of the war was centered.  However, it can be seen from a different angle that World War I was a global war in that it involved countries from around the four corners of the globe.  Of the global powers other than the Europeans involved in the War, the Asians played prominent roles, eventually joining the efforts of the Allies against the Entente Powers.  Though the Asian powers are noted as supporting the Allied Powers, a majority of the Asian population did not have a preference over who won the great European "civil war".  However, the general Asian population resented many of the Allied Powers because they attacked and imperialized many areas of Asia with little regard to Asian sentiment; in contrast, the Germans had "no tradition of Asian conquest," and thus would have been expected to appeal more than the Allied Powers.  However, in the name of democracy, a majority of Asian states came to the defense of the Allied powers.  Allied powers promised to defend democracies, which would result in political stability in Asia, a factor that would play a great role in settling Asian society and political policy.  Thus, even though Asians were pro-German due as a result of their resent for territorial expansion of Allied powers, they sided with the Allies to defend democracy.