SORU: aşağıdaki parçaya göre cevaplayınız
It is pointed out in the passage that, while the European powers were competing with each other for colonization overseas, ----.
In 1914, Europe had built a seemingly stable peace.
Through the complex negotiations of great power
geopolitics, Europe had settled into two systems of
alliance: the Allied Powers which consisted of Britain,
France and Russia, and the Central Powers that
included Germany, Austria, and Italy. Within this
balance of power, the nations of Europe challenged
one another for economic, military, and imperial
advantage. The rivalry for colonies abroad
accompanied a fierce arms race at home, where
military leaders assumed that superior technology
and larger armies would result in a quick victory in a
European war. Indeed, in the prevailing atmosphere
of international suspicion, such a war seemed likely
to many of Europe's political and military leaders. Yet
none of them predicted that the war would break out
so soon. Nor did many expect that the assassination
in June 1914 of the Austrian archduke and his wife
would spark off that war, which engulfed all of Europe
in just over a month's time.