The alliance system in europe was designed to maintain peace, yet it seemed to make the conflict worse once the fighting began. explain the apparent inconsistency

The alliance was not a natural agreement, but one forged from tension and necessity. The alliance was a demand of a group of countries, those forced into it were unenthusiastic and angry that they had been forced into an agreement that they agree too. As tensions rose, that led (eventually) to WWII.

The answer to the question is a.