Powder keg of Europe
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The "Powder keg" of Europe -sometimes alternately known as the "Balkan Powder Keg"- refers to the Balkans in the early part of the Twentieth Century. In this time period there were a number of overlapping claims to territories and spheres of influence between the major European powers such as Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary and, to a lesser degree, Imperial Germany, Great Britain, and Italy. In addition to the imperialistic ambitions and interests in this region, there was a growth in nationalism with the indigenous peoples of this region leading to the formation of the independent states of Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece.
Within these nations there were movements to create "greater" nations, that is to enlarge the boundaries of the state beyond those areas where the national ethnic group was in the majority. This led to conflict between the newly independent nations and their former oppressor, Ottoman Turkey. Additionally, it led to differences between the Balkan nations who wished to gain territory at the expense of their neighbors. Both the conflict with Ottoman Turkey and between the Balkan nations led to the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913.
In a different vein, the ideology of Pan-Slavism in Balkans gained popularity; the movement built around it in the region sought to unite all of the Slavs of the Balkans into one nation, Yugoslavia. This, however, would require the union of several Balkan states and territory which was part of Austria-Hungary. For this reason, Pan-Slavism was strongly opposed by Austria-Hungary, while it was supported by Russia which viewed itself as leader of all Slavic nations.
To complicate matters, in the years preceding World War I, there existed a tangle of Great Power alliances, both formal and informal, public and secret. Following the Napoleonic Wars there had existed a Balance of Power to, in theory, prevent major wars. This theory held that opposing combinations of powers in Europe would be evenly matched entaling that any general war would be far too costly for any nation to risk entering. This system began to fall apart as the Ottoman Empire which had been seen as a check on Russian power began to crumble, and as Germany, which had been a loose confederation of minor states, was united into a major power. Not only did these changes lead to a realignment of power, but of interests as well.
All these factors, and many others, conspired to bring about the First World War. As is insinuated by the name "the powder keg of Europe," the Balkans were not the major issue at stake in the war, but were merely the catalyst that lead to the conflagration. The Chancellor of Germany in the late ninteenth and early twentieth centuries, Otto von Bismarck, correctly predicted it would be the source of major conflict in Europe.
The First World War began with a spat between imperialist Austria-Hungary and Pan-Slavic Serbia. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, a member of the Austrian royal family, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist of the Black Hand movement. Austria-Hungary then released an ultimatum to Serbia intended to provoke it to war with extreme demands. Serbia agreed to all components of the ultimatum with the exception that they would not accept fault for the murder of Franz Ferdinand. This gave Austria-Hungary the impetus to invade Serbia. With Germany fully supporting them, the Austro-Hungarians mobilized their army. This caused Russia to enter the conflict on the side of the Serbians. Due to the system of alliances in Europe France and several other nations were obliged to mobilize and then declare war.
