Balkan Nationalism as WWI cause
"Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind,"- Albert Einstein. Over the course of humanity's march out of the East and into the west, the Balkan Peninsula has been a crossroads of political, cultural, and artistic developments. The Balkans, much like the other regions of Europe during the turn of the twentieth century, were experiencing strong nationalistic ideologies. Nationalism in this scenario would be defined as the desire for people to be ruled by themselves. For the Balkans this meant the expulsion of all foreign presence. Tensions caused mainly by nationalism in the Balkans between 1870 and 1914 contributed to the beginning of the first World War because of the chain reactions that occurred after the assassination of the Archduke Franze Ferdinand.A rise in military power in Europe began after 1870. Germany had taken the territory of Alsace-Lorraine from the French in the Franco-Prussian war. Due to their quick and embarrassing loss in the war, and concerns about another German attack, France began to build up their military and place strong fortresses on the German border. France's military building would foreshadow the arms race Europe would see.
Bismarck's absence changed the alliance of Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm II refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia. Russia did not want to be isolated and choose to surround Germany by a military alliance with France known as the Dual Entent. While Russia and France were making secret conversation, Britain was attempting to form an alliance of their own. Britain, under the new Salisbury government, attempted to create an Anglo-German alliance. Wilhelm quickly rejected the idea, and Britain was forced to turn elsewhere. They ended up with an Anglo-Japanese alliance in 1902, Anglo-French alliance in 1904, and an Anglo-Russian alliance in 1907. While Serbia turned to Russia, Austria-Hungary officially annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908. Not only was this the immediate cause of the Turkish revolution, but it deeply angered the Serbian nationalists. The secret societies were forced to pick up their pace before Austria-Hungary completely dominated their new lands. Austria-Hungary demanded that all anti-Austrian propaganda be stopped and for the investigation of the assassination to be led by Austrian officials. If Serbia would agree to this, they would forfeit virtually full control of their nation. Serbia's reply led to the mobilization of Austria-Hungary. Due to their desire to put out the Serbian nationalism, which was the reason behind many dangerous terrorist attacks, Austria-Hungary declared war on July 28, 1914.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1181
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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