"I don't agree: the issue was less the monarchs and more the democrats." ...A late footnote. Again, I'm not in total disagreement with this position. However,

"I don't agree: the issue was less the monarchs and more the democrats." ...A late footnote. Again, I'm not in total disagreement with this position. However, I would point out that argument over this matter has never fully settled since since the outbreak of the War. From my perspective, the most researched and still the most authoritative reference on this matter is A.J.P Taylor's 1954 book The Struggle for Mastery in Europe 1848–1918: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Struggle_for_Mastery_in_Europe_1848%E2%80%931918 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Struggle_for_Mastery_in_Eu.... Later, in 1961, Taylor augments this earlier history with his equally famous and controversial book (as you'll note from the link): The Origins of the Second World War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_the_Second_World_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Origins_of_the_Second_Worl.... (The fact that Taylor's account is controversial is testament to the fact that there is still considerable disagreement over the origins of both World Wars. The Wiki link provides a lively commentary on that debate and it's well worth reading.) Anyway, it seems to me that to get a good appreciation of this history one should study both books.