I would argue that Britain had reason to fight the First World War. I think we need to look at them treating history with respect. We know how the story turned out and so it's very easy for us to say what fools they were. They did not make these decisions lightly. The issues in 1914 were not about fighting for democracy or a liberal international order. People didn't go in to the first world war thinking they were fighting for democracy nor did they go in if I may disagree with that great historian Michael Gove saying we are fighting for a liberalinternational order. What was at issue for Britain in 1914 were a number of things and I think it's very important to gain to remember
For this week's Sunday Debate, we're dipping back into the archive to 2014, when we gathered a panel of expert historians to debate whether Britain was right to fight in the First World War, a tragedy that laid the foundations for decades of destructive upheaval and violence across Europe. To debate the issue, we invited leading historians Margaret MacMillan, Max Hastings, John Charmley and Dominic Sandbrook to an event hosted by journalist, columnist and national security expert, Edward Lucas.
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