Serbian Nationalism and the Great War

John Etty questions whether Serb nationalism was an irresistible force that helped unleash the First World War.

Historians tend to blame nationalism for the European ills which led to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. They are able to cite many examples of German aggression, and coyly quote British sources to show that nationalism had even managed to affect our own view of the world. But, they assert, the brand of nationalism which did most to undermine international stability by 1914 was Serbian. Doubtless Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary would have agreed. Yet was Serb nationalism really so significant?

The Growth of National Identity

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