Final answer:
The item that does not belong to John Stoessinger's thesis is c. the key actors in the start of World War I were motivated by hatred for their enemies, as he focuses on strategic and political reasoning over simplistic hatred. The correct option is C.
Step-by-step explanation:
John Stoessinger's thesis in "The Iron Dice" analyzes the factors leading to World War I and rejects the notion of its inevitability. The answer to which item does not belong when describing his thesis is: c. the key actors in the start of World War I were motivated by hatred for their enemies. Instead, Stoessinger focuses on the complex web of alliances, militarism, and the decisions of leaders under pressure rather than simplistic hatred as factors in the war's outbreak.
He examines how the fear of defeat, nationalist sentiments, and the tangle of alliances led to the escalation of the July Crisis. The term 'the iron dice' reflects the gamble that European leaders took, which rolled out of their control and into a full-blown World War.
Item c does not align with Stoessinger's argument; he emphasizes strategic, political, and honor-driven reasons over raw hatred as motivations for key actors. Also, Stoessinger's argument clearly deals with the interplay of war plans, national honor, and the failure of diplomacy, rather than an uncontrollable hatred leading to the Great War.
The mention of the 'Kaiser's blood bond' in option d insists on the pledge of unwavering support to Austria-Hungary, underpinning the web of obligations rather than individual animosities.