Guiding Question: Can a single nation cause a global conflict?
Factors that played a key role in the origin of WW1: Long Term Causes, Immediate Causes and Short Term Causes.
Opening Statement (Ishan Patney)
The Austro-Hungarian government and military leaders wanted a war against Serbia after Serbia’s growing power and influence in the Balkans (which could be seen by Serbia’s defeat of Bulgaria in the second Balkan War) began to threaten Austria-Hungary. Their relations grew worse after the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite both Serbian and Russian objections due to the large number of Serbs living in Bosnia. Thus, upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary received the opportunity they were waiting for. “The outrage committed upon the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince as the act of a conspiracy engineered in Serbia is becoming more and more apparent. The idea is to use this as a political weapon against us” (Yovanovitch). They did this by first sending an ultimatum containing extremely unreasonable points, most of which Serbia still accepted, like “The Royal Serbian Government binds itself without delay to eliminate from the public instruction in Serbia anything which might further the propaganda directed against Austria-Hungary” (Serbian). They did this because they knew Serbia could not and would not accept all of them like taking “judicial proceedings against accessories to the plot of the 28th of June who are on Serbian territory” (First), and they could then use this as an excuse to go to war, something they wanted to do from before. However, Austria could not go to war without German support. Both Austrian and German governments knew that if they attacked Serbia, Russia would step in to help Serbia, bringing its allies with it. however, Germany still issued its blank cheque to Austria. Thus, the cause of World War 1 rests solely with the Austrian and German governments, the former of which wanted war, and the latter of which is pledged its unconditional support.
Factors that played a key role in the origin of WW1: Long Term Causes, Immediate Causes and Short Term Causes.
Opening Statement (Ishan Patney)
The Austro-Hungarian government and military leaders wanted a war against Serbia after Serbia’s growing power and influence in the Balkans (which could be seen by Serbia’s defeat of Bulgaria in the second Balkan War) began to threaten Austria-Hungary. Their relations grew worse after the Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite both Serbian and Russian objections due to the large number of Serbs living in Bosnia. Thus, upon the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Austria-Hungary received the opportunity they were waiting for. “The outrage committed upon the Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince as the act of a conspiracy engineered in Serbia is becoming more and more apparent. The idea is to use this as a political weapon against us” (Yovanovitch). They did this by first sending an ultimatum containing extremely unreasonable points, most of which Serbia still accepted, like “The Royal Serbian Government binds itself without delay to eliminate from the public instruction in Serbia anything which might further the propaganda directed against Austria-Hungary” (Serbian). They did this because they knew Serbia could not and would not accept all of them like taking “judicial proceedings against accessories to the plot of the 28th of June who are on Serbian territory” (First), and they could then use this as an excuse to go to war, something they wanted to do from before. However, Austria could not go to war without German support. Both Austrian and German governments knew that if they attacked Serbia, Russia would step in to help Serbia, bringing its allies with it. however, Germany still issued its blank cheque to Austria. Thus, the cause of World War 1 rests solely with the Austrian and German governments, the former of which wanted war, and the latter of which is pledged its unconditional support.
Long-Term Causes:
(Abraham Saleem)
Militarism- The Habsburg monarchy saw Serbia as a looming threat to its territorial ambitions, and wanted to annihilate all Serbian efforts of gaining prospective Habsburg land. To make sure of this plan, the Habsburg monarchy called for the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908. "The Annexation Crisis began on October 5, 1908, when Bulgaria declared its independence followed by the announcement by Austria-Hungary on October 6, 1908, that it was annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina" (McDonough 14-15). Serbia saw this move by Austria-Hungary as an obstructing force and created the Balkan League, which was composed of Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro. When the Balkan league had successfully completed their war against Turkey, Bulgaria felt cheated and decided to declare war on the Balkan League. Serbia easily defeated Bulgaria, since the Ottomans were very weak. Serbia made an alliance with Russia and posed a threat to the rest of Europe.
(Abraham Saleem)
Militarism- The Habsburg monarchy saw Serbia as a looming threat to its territorial ambitions, and wanted to annihilate all Serbian efforts of gaining prospective Habsburg land. To make sure of this plan, the Habsburg monarchy called for the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1908. "The Annexation Crisis began on October 5, 1908, when Bulgaria declared its independence followed by the announcement by Austria-Hungary on October 6, 1908, that it was annexing Bosnia-Herzegovina" (McDonough 14-15). Serbia saw this move by Austria-Hungary as an obstructing force and created the Balkan League, which was composed of Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro. When the Balkan league had successfully completed their war against Turkey, Bulgaria felt cheated and decided to declare war on the Balkan League. Serbia easily defeated Bulgaria, since the Ottomans were very weak. Serbia made an alliance with Russia and posed a threat to the rest of Europe.
Alliances: During the first Balkan War, Serbia had alliances with Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro. However their alliance with the strongest power was with Russia. Russia agreed to protect Serbia from the threat of Austria Hungary and all other European nations that threatened Serbia.
Imperialism- Serbia wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina for trade purposes, however they were rejected by Austria Hungary. During the first Balkan War, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece were given all the European territory of the Ottoman Empire except Albania. At the end of the Second Balkan War, Serbia was given "large gains in Macedonia, but was denied the Adriatic port under the Germans and Austrians" (McDonough 14). Also, Serbia's need for a trade outlet to the Adriatic Sea had developed, sharpening Serbia's nationalist ambitions with regard to Bosnia.
Nationalism- The Balkan Crisis symbolize the struggle to get rid of Ottoman rule. At this time, the Serbians and many other European countries like Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro were under Turkish rule. By forming alliances with these countries and having strong nationalism, Serbia gained huge amounts of land and hence, gained more and more hatred from opposing nations.
Short-Term Causes:
The Two Balkan Wars and the Bosnian Crisis (Abraham Saleem)
The First Balkan War:
The First Balkan War broke out in 1912. The Balkan Alliance which included Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia was formed in 1912 after the key purpose was to force “Turkey from the Balkans by taking Macedonia and dividing it up between themselves” (Ch 2. The Causes of World War I). The Ottoman Empire had a very weak hand in Bulgaria, and were on the verge of being completely destroyed. Also during this time, Serbia had built up strong land forces, which stirred worries and bad omens of Austria-Hungary's future as an imperial nation backed by Germany. Because of this perpetuating and looming fear, the Austrian army generals wished to wage war against Serbia. However, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, Russia and the Red Army would begin to mobilize. In a matter of a few days or weeks, this could escalate in to a full-scale European war. To prevent a full-scale war from capitalizing, Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary was, organized a peace conference in London. As a result two things occurred:
1. The Turkish lands were divided up between the Balkan states
2. Austria- Hungary succeeded in containing Serbia by getting the conference to agree to the creation of Albania which was placed between Serbia and the Adriatic Sea; this lead to more resentment and hatred between Serbia and Austria-Hungary.
The Second Balkan War:
Due to many disagreements between the European nations, a second Balkan war broke out in 1913. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, called for a full-scale war against Serbia and Greece to gain its land back. The Bulgarians strongly believed that there were too many of its own people living within Macedonia, land that was given to Serbia and Greece after the First Balkan War. Once again, Austria-Hungary asked Germany for assistance, but the Kaiser refused to get involved. The results that came out was that the Greeks and Serbs defeated Bulgaria. Some time after the war, The Treaty of Bucharest was signed in 1912. All in all, Serbia came out successful again and the land mass doubled in size as well.
The Two Balkan Wars and the Bosnian Crisis (Abraham Saleem)
The First Balkan War:
The First Balkan War broke out in 1912. The Balkan Alliance which included Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia was formed in 1912 after the key purpose was to force “Turkey from the Balkans by taking Macedonia and dividing it up between themselves” (Ch 2. The Causes of World War I). The Ottoman Empire had a very weak hand in Bulgaria, and were on the verge of being completely destroyed. Also during this time, Serbia had built up strong land forces, which stirred worries and bad omens of Austria-Hungary's future as an imperial nation backed by Germany. Because of this perpetuating and looming fear, the Austrian army generals wished to wage war against Serbia. However, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, Russia and the Red Army would begin to mobilize. In a matter of a few days or weeks, this could escalate in to a full-scale European war. To prevent a full-scale war from capitalizing, Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary was, organized a peace conference in London. As a result two things occurred:
1. The Turkish lands were divided up between the Balkan states
2. Austria- Hungary succeeded in containing Serbia by getting the conference to agree to the creation of Albania which was placed between Serbia and the Adriatic Sea; this lead to more resentment and hatred between Serbia and Austria-Hungary.
The Second Balkan War:
Due to many disagreements between the European nations, a second Balkan war broke out in 1913. Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, called for a full-scale war against Serbia and Greece to gain its land back. The Bulgarians strongly believed that there were too many of its own people living within Macedonia, land that was given to Serbia and Greece after the First Balkan War. Once again, Austria-Hungary asked Germany for assistance, but the Kaiser refused to get involved. The results that came out was that the Greeks and Serbs defeated Bulgaria. Some time after the war, The Treaty of Bucharest was signed in 1912. All in all, Serbia came out successful again and the land mass doubled in size as well.
The Bosnian Crisis:
In 1908, a nationalist group known as the "Young Turks" sparked a revolution against the issue of the Eastern Question. The Eastern Question Austria-Hungary reacted to this abrupt action by annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This annexation created an outrage in Serbia because the people hoped that these provinces would ultimately form part of a “Greater Serbia” and provide access to the Adriatic sea. With Serbia becoming outraged led to Russia becoming angry, and ultimately, war was inevitable at this point. Germany stood firmly behind Austria-Hungary, and discouraged all forms of military action by Serbia and Russia. The results of this crisis were that there were increased feelings of nationalism within Serbia and the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary appeared to be stronger than that of the Triple-Entente. Ultimately, by this time, the era of cooperation between Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkans region had come to a definitive end.
In 1908, a nationalist group known as the "Young Turks" sparked a revolution against the issue of the Eastern Question. The Eastern Question Austria-Hungary reacted to this abrupt action by annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This annexation created an outrage in Serbia because the people hoped that these provinces would ultimately form part of a “Greater Serbia” and provide access to the Adriatic sea. With Serbia becoming outraged led to Russia becoming angry, and ultimately, war was inevitable at this point. Germany stood firmly behind Austria-Hungary, and discouraged all forms of military action by Serbia and Russia. The results of this crisis were that there were increased feelings of nationalism within Serbia and the alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary appeared to be stronger than that of the Triple-Entente. Ultimately, by this time, the era of cooperation between Austria-Hungary and Russia in the Balkans region had come to a definitive end.
Immediate Causes of World War I ( July Crisis ):
July Crisis of 1914 (Rohit Nair)
The July Crisis is a quintessential immediate cause of World War I. Serbia played a crucial role in the July Crisis, as did many other countries in Europe. The political climate surrounding Europe in early 1914 was extremely ruthless and hostile. German and Russian relations were at their worst, and animosity between the Allied and Central powers was continuously increasing. The event that pushed these belligerent nations over the edge was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The extremists who partook in the killing of Franz Ferdinand were from a nationalist, terrorist group in Serbia known as the "Black Hand". They had far ties to the Serbian government, but were not endorsed or affiliated with it to a large extent. Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination of its leader on the Serbian government and felt compelled to act in retaliation in order to reaffirm their power and discourage further acts against the future Archduke. Germany had also promised its support of Austria-Hungary, regardless of their decision whether to go to war or not. Nearly a month after the assassination, Austria gave Serbia a harsh ultimatum that said that if they did not agree with the exact statements on the document, war would be the only other option. Serbia appealed to Russia for help, and when Russia mobilized its troops, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, leading Germany to declare war on Russia. World War I had begun and would last for 4 long and bloody savaging years. Millions would die and thousands of others would be severely injured.
July Crisis of 1914 (Rohit Nair)
The July Crisis is a quintessential immediate cause of World War I. Serbia played a crucial role in the July Crisis, as did many other countries in Europe. The political climate surrounding Europe in early 1914 was extremely ruthless and hostile. German and Russian relations were at their worst, and animosity between the Allied and Central powers was continuously increasing. The event that pushed these belligerent nations over the edge was the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The extremists who partook in the killing of Franz Ferdinand were from a nationalist, terrorist group in Serbia known as the "Black Hand". They had far ties to the Serbian government, but were not endorsed or affiliated with it to a large extent. Austria-Hungary blamed the assassination of its leader on the Serbian government and felt compelled to act in retaliation in order to reaffirm their power and discourage further acts against the future Archduke. Germany had also promised its support of Austria-Hungary, regardless of their decision whether to go to war or not. Nearly a month after the assassination, Austria gave Serbia a harsh ultimatum that said that if they did not agree with the exact statements on the document, war would be the only other option. Serbia appealed to Russia for help, and when Russia mobilized its troops, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, leading Germany to declare war on Russia. World War I had begun and would last for 4 long and bloody savaging years. Millions would die and thousands of others would be severely injured.
Conditions in Serbia during 1870-1914
Military Conditions (Ishan Patney) :
The main causes of Serbian involvement in the start of World War 1, militarily, were the two Balkan wars. Serbian relations with Austria-Hungary were already weakened because of the “Pig War” between the two sides and the Austrian annexation of Bosnia. In the two Balkan wars, Serbia sought to expand their territories using their military might, and it carried this out by emulating Germany and Italy, so that they could achieve economic and political success. However, to do this they had to be strong militarily and win what the areas they wanted. This was how Serbia began to contribute to the start of the war militarily.
This was the start of one of the short term causes of world war 1, that Serbian military conditions contributed to. Serbia’s first goal was to use their military to drive out the decaying Ottoman empire that had retained control of the Balkans, where millions of Serbs lived. So, the countries in the Balkans wanting freedom (Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia) fought and defeated the Ottoman empire. However, Austria was becoming nervous of Serbia’s growing power, and thus successfully managed to arrange for Serbia not to get the port on the Adriatic that they had wanted. Bulgaria was also dissatisfied after not getting some of the territory they wanted that Serbia received instead and declared war on Serbia. Serbia soundly defeated Bulgaria with their army of over 300,000 men. Through their good military tactics, they began to acquire more territory and expanded their military even further, making Austria-Hungary even more nervous.
The consequences of these two wars that Serbia won through their growing military were Serbian confidence in their military grew, and their desire for a united Slavic nation grew as well. This worsened their relations with Austria-Hungary because Austria-Hungary was controlling territories containing large populations of Serbs. So after Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by someone with ties to a Serbian terrorist group called the black hand, Austria-Hungary decided it wanted to go to war with Serbia. After Germany issued its blank cheque, Serbia’s ally, Russia, mobilized in preparation for a confrontation with Germany. This brought France and later Britain as well, starting World War 1.
The Serbian military did not have control over the Serbian terrorist group The Black Hand. The Black Hand also contained Serbian military officials. This was how Serbian military conditions played a role in the immediate cause of world war 1. However, there is no proof that the Serbian government wanted the Black Hand to do what they did, and punished the Black Hand members. Additionally, Serbia should also not receive total blame because it would not have been realistic or possible for them to monitor every single person and see what secret organizations they are part of. So, while Serbia had involvement in the short term and immediate causes, they were largely not blame and shouldn’t be held responsible for the entire start of world war 1, which had long term causes because of Germany long before Serbian involvement.
Economic Conditions (Adeeb Hafeez) :
Economic conditions in Serbia was another factor that contributed to the First World War. The economic differentiation of the population had already set in by the end of the nineteenth century. A few years prior to World War 1, Serbia was mainly agricultural: 87.31% of the population made its living through agriculture, 4.64% through handcrafts and industry, 2.22% from trade, and 5.83% had other sources of income.
Serbia exported its agricultural products and imported industrial and handicraft products from Austria-Hungary. However, after managing to emancipate itself from Austria-Hungary, Serbia established economic relations with other foreign powers and also altered some of its trade routes. In spite of all of this, nothing like an Industrial Revolution happened in Serbia at this time. The population of Serbia that earned wages and a salary was homogeneous, or spread out. It included peasants, women and children, unskilled male factory workers, skilled native and foreign factory workers, domestic servants, and handicraft workers. The Serbian labor movement eventually happened. It was functionally divided into the economic branch and the political branch. When Serbia started trying to avoid economic and political control by the Habsburgs, and build links with other countries, particularly France, Vienna decided to punish the Serbs with economic sanctions. Specifically, in an attempt to reduce its economic dependence on the Austro-Hungarians, in 1904 Serbia began to import France rather than Austrian munitions and established a customs union with Bulgaria in 1905, making tariff-laden Austrian goods unsalable in Serbia. Pig exports started to increase by a lot in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Heavy population growth in Serbia was reabsorbed almost entirely within the farm economy.
Between 1850 and 1876, there was a huge change in foreign trade as it nearly doubled, as there was growing demand for Serbian exports of livestock. Serbia's market of exported livestock was primarily to Austria-Hungary, however the trade also occurred in the opposite way, as most of the Serbian goods were from Austria Hungary. This left Serbia in a situation where they were dependent upon Austria-Hungary for economic trade. However, before the 1880s, Serbia had a very gradual, slow change to industrialization. Serbia created ironworks and also building roads and bridges. Communication efficiency and factories increased as trade regulated throughout Serbia helping Serbia's poor economy. Even though Serbia experienced gradual industrial change, agriculture was still prominent throughout Serbian society and culture.
Political Conditions (Rohit Nair) :
Serbian politics in the late 1800s and the early 1900s was dominated by politicians who had been educated in Western Europe. These politicians had acquired "modern ideas" and advocated for free expression, representative government, constitutional procedures, and nationalism (Hall 94).
In the late 1870’s Serbia introduced a expansionist foreign policy with the aim to liberate the Serbians who still remained in the surrounding Ottoman and Habsburg lands. This plan was called the Greater Serbian plan. This plan demonstrated nationalism within Serbia as its primary goal was to make Serbia a combined, unified nation and imperialize. This policy would spark the tension in the Balkan region, as Serbia’s territorial goals were the territories of strong empires like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. There were few alterations to the general perspective of the Serbian government upon their foreign policies later in the 1900s; they still sought national unification. After the Pig War and Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia Herzegovina, tensions grew between both the Serbian and Austria-Hungarian governments , and thus all forthcoming Serbian foreign policies were based upon Anti-Austrian sentiment. During this time, there was also division between Serb politicians due to a debate whether to achieve their nationalistic goals with or without the support of Bulgaria (Hall 94).
Social Conditions (Abraham Saleem) :
Serbian nationalism is, even today, powered by the mythologised sacrifice of a medieval army. On 15th June 1389 at Kosovo, 30,000 Serbs defended Serbia’s ancient empire and were defeated by the Ottoman ruler Murad I. Crucially, however, the Serb identity created by this memory is a negative one, defined by hatred of their enemies. This kind of nationalism was easily sustained through 400 years of Turkish rule. Serbs’ identity was defined by religious, economic, social and cultural difference – not just different from their Muslim overlords but also distinct from other Christians. Serbian pig farmers grew rich as neighbouring Austria-Hungary expanded, but proximity highlighted divergences between Catholic Christianity and Serbian Orthodoxy. The Serbian Orthodox Church incubated an old Slavonic faith, a language, an administrative system and an Archbishop.
Nationalism had a huge role to play in the social life of Serbia, especially after the tensions in the Balkan Wars and the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nationalism in Serbia was also one of the major sparks for the initiation of WW1 as the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was shot by a Serbian extremist group who was fueled by nationalism. Even in terms of ethnic population, nationalism played a huge role as nearly 90% of the ethnic population was Serbians, increasing the nationalism within society.
Pan-Slavism strengthened Serbian nationalism. After a humiliating defeat in the Crimean War, Russian benevolent societies sent money and good wishes to Balkan Slavs, and dreamed of restoring Constantinople as capital of an Orthodox empire. Membership of this Slavic brotherhood inspired (occasionally ill-founded) confidence. Despite an army of 90,000 men by 1871, Serbian military prowess was insufficient to achieve her rather less modest foreign policy aims. After uprisings in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia declared war on Turkey in July 1876, imagining that a wider revolt would ensue, but (even assisted by 700 Russian volunteer officers) she failed to defeat Turkey. The Great Powers’ attention was thus drawn to the Eastern Question, and Serbia found herself (geographically, at least, since she was excluded from the subsequent Congress of Berlin) central to European diplomacy. More importantly, Austria-Hungary and Russia both recognised Serbia’s aggression and modified their policies. By the time Russia declared war on Turkey in April 1877 it had transferred its hopes for Balkan influence to Bulgaria, which was enlarged by the Treaty of San Stefano.
For Serb nationalists, the idea of a “Greater Serbia” stretching all the way to the Adriatic Sea was a powerful message and ideal. To be truly independent, Serbian government officials believed it was quintessential to secure Bosnia-Herzegovina which lay between Serbia and the Adriatic sea. In 1903, King Alexander of Serbia was assassinated, partly because he maintained close ties with Austrian foreign officials, especially the foreign minister. This set up Serbia on a crash course Austria, and now, war seemed inevitable.
In this imperialist age, Serbian nationalists were distracted by the dynastic drama at home. Alexander Obrenovic (crowned 1889) and his marriage to Queen Draga, his mother’s servant, became an embarrassment for Serbia. What fatally worsened the situation, as Obrenovic shifted towards Austria-Hungary, was his proposed military funding cut. In June 1903 the royal couple were cornered in their bedroom and murdered by nationalist army officers led by Dragutin Dimitrijevic. The reign of Serbia’s new king, Peter Karadjordjevic, brought further deterioration of Ottoman control, massive army investment and a pro-Russian stance. However, Russian protection did immediately allow a braver Serbian foreign policy since Russia, whose foreign policy priorities lay eastwards, avoided Balkan conflict.
The main causes of Serbian involvement in the start of World War 1, militarily, were the two Balkan wars. Serbian relations with Austria-Hungary were already weakened because of the “Pig War” between the two sides and the Austrian annexation of Bosnia. In the two Balkan wars, Serbia sought to expand their territories using their military might, and it carried this out by emulating Germany and Italy, so that they could achieve economic and political success. However, to do this they had to be strong militarily and win what the areas they wanted. This was how Serbia began to contribute to the start of the war militarily.
This was the start of one of the short term causes of world war 1, that Serbian military conditions contributed to. Serbia’s first goal was to use their military to drive out the decaying Ottoman empire that had retained control of the Balkans, where millions of Serbs lived. So, the countries in the Balkans wanting freedom (Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia) fought and defeated the Ottoman empire. However, Austria was becoming nervous of Serbia’s growing power, and thus successfully managed to arrange for Serbia not to get the port on the Adriatic that they had wanted. Bulgaria was also dissatisfied after not getting some of the territory they wanted that Serbia received instead and declared war on Serbia. Serbia soundly defeated Bulgaria with their army of over 300,000 men. Through their good military tactics, they began to acquire more territory and expanded their military even further, making Austria-Hungary even more nervous.
The consequences of these two wars that Serbia won through their growing military were Serbian confidence in their military grew, and their desire for a united Slavic nation grew as well. This worsened their relations with Austria-Hungary because Austria-Hungary was controlling territories containing large populations of Serbs. So after Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by someone with ties to a Serbian terrorist group called the black hand, Austria-Hungary decided it wanted to go to war with Serbia. After Germany issued its blank cheque, Serbia’s ally, Russia, mobilized in preparation for a confrontation with Germany. This brought France and later Britain as well, starting World War 1.
The Serbian military did not have control over the Serbian terrorist group The Black Hand. The Black Hand also contained Serbian military officials. This was how Serbian military conditions played a role in the immediate cause of world war 1. However, there is no proof that the Serbian government wanted the Black Hand to do what they did, and punished the Black Hand members. Additionally, Serbia should also not receive total blame because it would not have been realistic or possible for them to monitor every single person and see what secret organizations they are part of. So, while Serbia had involvement in the short term and immediate causes, they were largely not blame and shouldn’t be held responsible for the entire start of world war 1, which had long term causes because of Germany long before Serbian involvement.
Economic Conditions (Adeeb Hafeez) :
Economic conditions in Serbia was another factor that contributed to the First World War. The economic differentiation of the population had already set in by the end of the nineteenth century. A few years prior to World War 1, Serbia was mainly agricultural: 87.31% of the population made its living through agriculture, 4.64% through handcrafts and industry, 2.22% from trade, and 5.83% had other sources of income.
Serbia exported its agricultural products and imported industrial and handicraft products from Austria-Hungary. However, after managing to emancipate itself from Austria-Hungary, Serbia established economic relations with other foreign powers and also altered some of its trade routes. In spite of all of this, nothing like an Industrial Revolution happened in Serbia at this time. The population of Serbia that earned wages and a salary was homogeneous, or spread out. It included peasants, women and children, unskilled male factory workers, skilled native and foreign factory workers, domestic servants, and handicraft workers. The Serbian labor movement eventually happened. It was functionally divided into the economic branch and the political branch. When Serbia started trying to avoid economic and political control by the Habsburgs, and build links with other countries, particularly France, Vienna decided to punish the Serbs with economic sanctions. Specifically, in an attempt to reduce its economic dependence on the Austro-Hungarians, in 1904 Serbia began to import France rather than Austrian munitions and established a customs union with Bulgaria in 1905, making tariff-laden Austrian goods unsalable in Serbia. Pig exports started to increase by a lot in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Heavy population growth in Serbia was reabsorbed almost entirely within the farm economy.
Between 1850 and 1876, there was a huge change in foreign trade as it nearly doubled, as there was growing demand for Serbian exports of livestock. Serbia's market of exported livestock was primarily to Austria-Hungary, however the trade also occurred in the opposite way, as most of the Serbian goods were from Austria Hungary. This left Serbia in a situation where they were dependent upon Austria-Hungary for economic trade. However, before the 1880s, Serbia had a very gradual, slow change to industrialization. Serbia created ironworks and also building roads and bridges. Communication efficiency and factories increased as trade regulated throughout Serbia helping Serbia's poor economy. Even though Serbia experienced gradual industrial change, agriculture was still prominent throughout Serbian society and culture.
Political Conditions (Rohit Nair) :
Serbian politics in the late 1800s and the early 1900s was dominated by politicians who had been educated in Western Europe. These politicians had acquired "modern ideas" and advocated for free expression, representative government, constitutional procedures, and nationalism (Hall 94).
In the late 1870’s Serbia introduced a expansionist foreign policy with the aim to liberate the Serbians who still remained in the surrounding Ottoman and Habsburg lands. This plan was called the Greater Serbian plan. This plan demonstrated nationalism within Serbia as its primary goal was to make Serbia a combined, unified nation and imperialize. This policy would spark the tension in the Balkan region, as Serbia’s territorial goals were the territories of strong empires like Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. There were few alterations to the general perspective of the Serbian government upon their foreign policies later in the 1900s; they still sought national unification. After the Pig War and Austria-Hungary's annexation of Bosnia Herzegovina, tensions grew between both the Serbian and Austria-Hungarian governments , and thus all forthcoming Serbian foreign policies were based upon Anti-Austrian sentiment. During this time, there was also division between Serb politicians due to a debate whether to achieve their nationalistic goals with or without the support of Bulgaria (Hall 94).
Social Conditions (Abraham Saleem) :
Serbian nationalism is, even today, powered by the mythologised sacrifice of a medieval army. On 15th June 1389 at Kosovo, 30,000 Serbs defended Serbia’s ancient empire and were defeated by the Ottoman ruler Murad I. Crucially, however, the Serb identity created by this memory is a negative one, defined by hatred of their enemies. This kind of nationalism was easily sustained through 400 years of Turkish rule. Serbs’ identity was defined by religious, economic, social and cultural difference – not just different from their Muslim overlords but also distinct from other Christians. Serbian pig farmers grew rich as neighbouring Austria-Hungary expanded, but proximity highlighted divergences between Catholic Christianity and Serbian Orthodoxy. The Serbian Orthodox Church incubated an old Slavonic faith, a language, an administrative system and an Archbishop.
Nationalism had a huge role to play in the social life of Serbia, especially after the tensions in the Balkan Wars and the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nationalism in Serbia was also one of the major sparks for the initiation of WW1 as the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was shot by a Serbian extremist group who was fueled by nationalism. Even in terms of ethnic population, nationalism played a huge role as nearly 90% of the ethnic population was Serbians, increasing the nationalism within society.
Pan-Slavism strengthened Serbian nationalism. After a humiliating defeat in the Crimean War, Russian benevolent societies sent money and good wishes to Balkan Slavs, and dreamed of restoring Constantinople as capital of an Orthodox empire. Membership of this Slavic brotherhood inspired (occasionally ill-founded) confidence. Despite an army of 90,000 men by 1871, Serbian military prowess was insufficient to achieve her rather less modest foreign policy aims. After uprisings in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia declared war on Turkey in July 1876, imagining that a wider revolt would ensue, but (even assisted by 700 Russian volunteer officers) she failed to defeat Turkey. The Great Powers’ attention was thus drawn to the Eastern Question, and Serbia found herself (geographically, at least, since she was excluded from the subsequent Congress of Berlin) central to European diplomacy. More importantly, Austria-Hungary and Russia both recognised Serbia’s aggression and modified their policies. By the time Russia declared war on Turkey in April 1877 it had transferred its hopes for Balkan influence to Bulgaria, which was enlarged by the Treaty of San Stefano.
For Serb nationalists, the idea of a “Greater Serbia” stretching all the way to the Adriatic Sea was a powerful message and ideal. To be truly independent, Serbian government officials believed it was quintessential to secure Bosnia-Herzegovina which lay between Serbia and the Adriatic sea. In 1903, King Alexander of Serbia was assassinated, partly because he maintained close ties with Austrian foreign officials, especially the foreign minister. This set up Serbia on a crash course Austria, and now, war seemed inevitable.
In this imperialist age, Serbian nationalists were distracted by the dynastic drama at home. Alexander Obrenovic (crowned 1889) and his marriage to Queen Draga, his mother’s servant, became an embarrassment for Serbia. What fatally worsened the situation, as Obrenovic shifted towards Austria-Hungary, was his proposed military funding cut. In June 1903 the royal couple were cornered in their bedroom and murdered by nationalist army officers led by Dragutin Dimitrijevic. The reign of Serbia’s new king, Peter Karadjordjevic, brought further deterioration of Ottoman control, massive army investment and a pro-Russian stance. However, Russian protection did immediately allow a braver Serbian foreign policy since Russia, whose foreign policy priorities lay eastwards, avoided Balkan conflict.
QUESTIONS (Abraham Saleem and Adeeb Hafeez)
1. What constitutes major power status?
Military was a huge source of power for Serbia. With a strong military force, Serbia appeared to be unbeatable. Another factor that played a quintessential role in Serbia's qualification as a major power status was land. Serbia wanted to annex the lands around it such as Bosnia-Herzegovina to create a “Greater Serbia. This was done in hope of liberating all Serbs from imperial domination from countries such as Germany and Great Britain, who had great territorial ambitions in and out of Europe.
2. What were the relative strengths and weaknesses of the powers?
The strengths of Serbia was, once again, mostly their military. After the 2nd Balkan War, Serbia had gained enormous amounts of power, along with a reinforced and stronger than ever army. Serbia had also gained huge allies to support them in the case of war, including Russia.
The weaknesses of Serbia included the size of their country. Because of its small size, it was not seen as a threat to other European nations. Serbia also did not have access to the Adriatic Sea and planned on expanding their land but Austria-Hungary always came in the way of Serbia's ambitions. Another aspect was that their government seemed corrupted. Because of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, this caused a secret group to act out against Austria-Hungary.
3. By 1914, which of the powers constituted the greater threat to peace, and why?
Germany and Austria-Hungary were the greatest threat to peace. Due to the fact that the German citizenry and diplomats wanted more land, tensions arose within Europe and this boastful imperialistic attitude of Germany inevitably led to World War I. All in all, with its aggressive expansion in growing military, Germany became a power to be feared and also the greater threat to peace.
Military was a huge source of power for Serbia. With a strong military force, Serbia appeared to be unbeatable. Another factor that played a quintessential role in Serbia's qualification as a major power status was land. Serbia wanted to annex the lands around it such as Bosnia-Herzegovina to create a “Greater Serbia. This was done in hope of liberating all Serbs from imperial domination from countries such as Germany and Great Britain, who had great territorial ambitions in and out of Europe.
2. What were the relative strengths and weaknesses of the powers?
The strengths of Serbia was, once again, mostly their military. After the 2nd Balkan War, Serbia had gained enormous amounts of power, along with a reinforced and stronger than ever army. Serbia had also gained huge allies to support them in the case of war, including Russia.
The weaknesses of Serbia included the size of their country. Because of its small size, it was not seen as a threat to other European nations. Serbia also did not have access to the Adriatic Sea and planned on expanding their land but Austria-Hungary always came in the way of Serbia's ambitions. Another aspect was that their government seemed corrupted. Because of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, this caused a secret group to act out against Austria-Hungary.
3. By 1914, which of the powers constituted the greater threat to peace, and why?
Germany and Austria-Hungary were the greatest threat to peace. Due to the fact that the German citizenry and diplomats wanted more land, tensions arose within Europe and this boastful imperialistic attitude of Germany inevitably led to World War I. All in all, with its aggressive expansion in growing military, Germany became a power to be feared and also the greater threat to peace.
GUIDING QUESTION: CAN A SINGLE NATION CAUSE A GLOBAL CONFLICT? (Adeeb Hafeez and Rohit Nair)
Reflecting on Serbia's role as a catalyst of World War 1, as well as the involvement of other powers, it can be asserted that a single nation cannot bear the responsibility for a global conflict. Many nations are always at the root of every global war or global conflict that is written in history. For example, if someone believes Germany is the country to blame for causing World War 1, he cannot only blame Germany. He must also blame Austria-Hungary and Italy because together, as nations of the Triple Alliance, they initiated the First World War. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, Austria-Hungary decided to go to war with Serbia (all part of the July Crisis). If Germany or Italy did not encourage this, the war would not have started. After all, Austria-Hungary could not go to war with no assistance or protection from other nations. In order for a global conflict, or a large war, to occur, many nations must be willing to fight. One single nation cannot simply force a plethora of nations to engage in war if it is not supported by another group of nations or strong allies.
CLOSING STATEMENTS: (Adeeb Hafeez)
Although some information may present that Serbia was the cause for the July Crisis during WWI, Serbia truly was not as strong a factor as were the actions of Austria- Hungary that started WW1. Austria-Hungary's oppressive rule in the Balkan area, combined with its unreasonable ultimatum to Serbia after its leader was killed, led up to the First World War. Actions by the Austro-Hungarians, as well as by its strong ally during this time, Germany, were what caused the immediate causes of the World War 1 to even occur. One can try to blame Serbia for the immediate initiation of the First World War in the July Crisis, but he cannot deny that power-hungry nations like Germany and Austria-Hungary caused tense situations to arise in the first place.
Reflecting on Serbia's role as a catalyst of World War 1, as well as the involvement of other powers, it can be asserted that a single nation cannot bear the responsibility for a global conflict. Many nations are always at the root of every global war or global conflict that is written in history. For example, if someone believes Germany is the country to blame for causing World War 1, he cannot only blame Germany. He must also blame Austria-Hungary and Italy because together, as nations of the Triple Alliance, they initiated the First World War. After Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed, Austria-Hungary decided to go to war with Serbia (all part of the July Crisis). If Germany or Italy did not encourage this, the war would not have started. After all, Austria-Hungary could not go to war with no assistance or protection from other nations. In order for a global conflict, or a large war, to occur, many nations must be willing to fight. One single nation cannot simply force a plethora of nations to engage in war if it is not supported by another group of nations or strong allies.
CLOSING STATEMENTS: (Adeeb Hafeez)
Although some information may present that Serbia was the cause for the July Crisis during WWI, Serbia truly was not as strong a factor as were the actions of Austria- Hungary that started WW1. Austria-Hungary's oppressive rule in the Balkan area, combined with its unreasonable ultimatum to Serbia after its leader was killed, led up to the First World War. Actions by the Austro-Hungarians, as well as by its strong ally during this time, Germany, were what caused the immediate causes of the World War 1 to even occur. One can try to blame Serbia for the immediate initiation of the First World War in the July Crisis, but he cannot deny that power-hungry nations like Germany and Austria-Hungary caused tense situations to arise in the first place.