To what extent was Balkan nationalism responsible for the outbreak of the war in 1914?

Europe was full of tensions in the years leading up to the war in 1914. The
competitive environment was stiff and the mood of the period was overwrought with arms
races, economic and colonial rivalries, hostile alliance systems, and the growth of popular
nationalism. 1 In 1908, the Balkans emerged as a great threat that caught Russia and Austria-
Hungary’s attention, and eventually their respective allies. From this time until the outbreak
of WWI, several events stirred the mixture of explosives that would eventually break out
into war. Balkan Nationalism only holds a share of the responsibility for the causes of war,
but the extent to which it is responsible for the outbreak of war goes much further. Balkan
Nationalism is not all to blame, however. Impersonal forces, such as the alliance system,
exacerbated the problem. Many factors other than Balkan Nationalism had a strong
influence on the war, but it is important to distinguish between the long-term causes that
caused the war, and the short-term causes (most dominantly, nationalism in the Balkans)
that account for the outbreak of war.
The first event that caused the emergence of the Balkans as a threat to international
stability was the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary in 19082. Austria’s
actions antagonized neighboring Serbia. Serbia then claimed the territories, and Russia
openly backed Serbia. Britain and France then had to restrain Russia from open conflict.
Even so, the potential for war was alive. “Serbia saw Austria-Hungary as the oppressor of
fellow Serbs in Bosnia, while Austria now feared that Serbia would destabilize the large Slav
population”3. Russia intensified her support for Serbia, while Germany was prepared to
support Austria-Hungary in any event, later on issuing Austria a ‘blank cheque’4. The second
event that reinforced the threat of the Balkans to the other European powers was the
collapse of Turkish power in 1912, where the individual nationalities lost a cohesive
authority and were free to rise, endangering Austria-Hungary. “It was only when this buffer
between the great powers was suddenly removed… that serious conflict in the Balkans
became inevitable.”5 The enlargement of Serbia was dangerous, “the growth of her
population by 50 per cent now enabled her to support an army of 400,000 men”6. Serbia’s
nationalism grew, and threatened Austria. These events provided a basis for how Balkan
nationalism set the tension that would eventually burst and spark a war.
However, Balkan nationalism was certainly not the only factor responsible in
providing for the inevitability of war. If Balkan nationalism had been the only underlying
cause of war and the short-term spark responsible for the outbreak of war, then the extent
of its responsibility would be full and conclusive. Instead, a variety of factors contribute to
the deeper causes of war. Economic rivalries created a competitive environment, in
particular between Germany and Britain. Hostilities between Germany and France drove
Britain and France closer together. Britain and Germany were in the midst of their Anglo-
German naval rivalry, where “British naval planners increasingly saw the German navy as
their main enemy of the future.”7 Alliance systems were delicate and tense, with the
continent divided into the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, and the
Dual Alliance of France and Russia, and the foreshadowing of Britain joining in the future.

1
Culpin & Henig
2
Stephen J Lee
3
IBID
4
Pearson
5
Culpin & Henig
6
Stephen J Lee
7
Margaret MacMillan
To what extent was Balkan nationalism responsible for the outbreak of the war in 1914?

France was bitter with Germany due to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. All nations were wary of
Germany’s Weltpolitik policy and its ambitions as a world power. The general atmosphere in
Europe was cautious and tense. The international competition and the alliances are two
examples of ‘impersonal forces’8, or influences beyond the direct control of an individual or
government. In other words, this is the situation that the European powers had to work
with. It went a long way in establishing the necessary atmosphere for war, but these factors
were not the trigger.
The responsibility for the trigger lies mostly with Balkan nationalism. After the
assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June 1914, “the only question asked in
Vienna was how far, and how fast, to move in crushing the threat to the monarchy posed by
Serbian nationalism”.9 Nationalism was certainly the force that drove the Serbs to kill the
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the spark that ignited the fire. The Austrians clearly felt
threatened enough by it to go to war with Serbia. Russia was affected by nationalism as
well; they faithfully supported Serbia in order to protect their fellow Slavs. The war broke
out because of the actions of the nationalist Serbian Black Hand movement, whose
objective was to unify the Slavs.10 This force must have been great, because Austria felt
threatened enough to issue an ultimatum with the intention of going to war. Berchtold
announced that Serbia ‘must be eliminated as a power in the Balkans’.11 In fact, the majority
of the leaders in Austria-Hungary felt so threatened by the conflict with Serbia that even
though the Serbs tried to comply with the imposing document, Austria was determined to
make war.
When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, everything was set into motion.
Russia ordered mobilization on July 30, and Germany declared war on Russia on August 1.
Two days later, Germany declared war on France. In order to avoid French borders,
Germany invaded Belgium, which resulted in Britain declaring war on Germany. Europe was
at war. The July Crisis was disastrous to the beginning of the war, but the July Crisis wouldn’t
have occurred without the murder of Franz Ferdinand, caused and carried out by Balkan
nationalists. After years of competitive tension, a nationalistic threat had set the wheels
spinning. In this sense, it is easy to see how Balkan nationalism was the main cause of the
outbreak of the First World War.
In essence, Balkan nationalism was the dominant cause for the outbreak of the First
World War. This is different from being a dominant cause of the war, however. While Balkan
nationalism did play a role in being one of the causes of the war, it was not responsible to a
full extent. Responsibility for the causes of the war largely rests with long-term impersonal
factors, like economic and militaristic rivalries and alliance systems. What Balkan
nationalism was at fault for was being the trigger that caused the outbreak. Without the
nationalism that killed the heir to the Austrian throne, the ultimatum would not have been
issued to Serbia, and the July Crisis would not have happened in such a disastrous way as it
did. The assassination set everything into motion into a situation that was full of (possible
motion). The war would not necessarily have happened without the Balkan nationalism
factor, and even so, it could not have happened the way it did. Because of this, Balkan
nationalism is responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914.

8
James Joll
9
Gordon Martel
10
Pearson
11
Stephen J Lee