Explain how nationalism, particularly in the Balkans, created instability and made the region a likely trigger for a wider war

What this dot point is asking

This dot point asks you to explain why nationalism, especially in the Balkans, made that region a flashpoint that could set off a European war. You should understand what nationalism is, why it was so strong in the Balkans, and how it brought the great powers into conflict. The Balkans is often called the "powder keg of Europe", a barrel of gunpowder waiting for a spark, and this dot point is about why. Your answer should show that nationalism created instability in the region and linked that instability to the alliance system.

The answer

What nationalism is

Nationalism is a strong sense of pride in one's own nation and the belief that a people sharing the same language, culture and history should rule themselves in their own state. In the early twentieth century nationalism was a powerful force across Europe. It could make a country proud and confident, but it could also be dangerous when different national groups lived mixed together under the rule of large empires, because each group might want its own freedom and its own land.

The Balkans and the decline of the Ottoman Empire

The Balkans, in south-east Europe, was an especially unstable region. For centuries much of it had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire, but by 1900 the Ottoman Empire was weak and shrinking. As Ottoman power faded, several small nations such as Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece won their independence. These new states were proud and ambitious, and they competed fiercely with one another for the lands the Ottomans were leaving behind. Two short wars in the region, in 1912 and 1913, showed how quickly the Balkan states could come to blows.

Serbian nationalism and the threat to Austria-Hungary

The most important nationalist movement was in Serbia. Serbian nationalists dreamed of uniting all the South Slav peoples into one large Slav state, sometimes called the dream of a Greater Serbia. The problem was that millions of Slavs lived inside the neighbouring Austro-Hungarian Empire. If Serbia tried to gather all the Slavs together, it would have to take territory from Austria-Hungary, and that could break the empire apart. For this reason Austria-Hungary saw Serbian nationalism as a deadly threat and was determined to crush it.

Russia and the great powers

Nationalism in the Balkans was so dangerous because it did not stay local. Russia saw itself as the natural protector of the Slav peoples and supported Serbia. Austria-Hungary, backed by its ally Germany, was determined to keep control. So a quarrel between tiny Serbia and Austria-Hungary was never just a local affair. Behind Serbia stood Russia, and behind Russia stood France. Behind Austria-Hungary stood Germany. Through the alliance system, a single spark in the Balkans could light a fire across the whole of Europe.

Why this made war more likely

The combination was explosive: a region full of proud new nations, a crumbling empire freeing more territory, an ambitious Serbia, a frightened Austria-Hungary, and two great powers taking opposite sides. Each Balkan crisis raised tension and made the next one more dangerous. By 1914 the region was so unstable that it only needed one event to set off a war that the alliances would then spread across the continent.

Examples in context

Example 1. The Balkan Wars. In 1912 and 1913 the small Balkan states fought two short wars, first against the Ottoman Empire and then against each other, over the lands the Ottomans were giving up. These wars left bitter resentments and showed the great powers how quickly the region could explode, raising the tension that fed into 1914.

Example 2. Austria-Hungary's many peoples. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a patchwork of many different national groups, including Germans, Hungarians, Czechs, Poles and Slavs. Because so many peoples wanted self-rule, the empire's leaders feared that if Serbia helped one group break free, the whole empire might fall apart. This fear explains why Austria-Hungary reacted so fiercely to events in the Balkans.

Try this

• Cue. Define nationalism in one sentence, then explain why it was especially dangerous in a region of mixed peoples like the Balkans.

• Cue. Explain how the decline of the Ottoman Empire created competition between the new Balkan states for land and influence.

• Cue. Explain why a quarrel between Serbia and Austria-Hungary could not stay local, naming the great powers that stood behind each side.