Pan-Slavism: the Cause of Wwi
Nationalism inspires a pride within a group of people that ignites change and strengthens unity. It is what keeps heritages and cultures of nations alive. But what happens when the people advocating Nationalism are trapped within a nation in which they do not desire to be? The Pan-Slavic movement in Eastern Europe in the early 20th Century created a tension between Austria-Hungary and Serbia that culminated in
WWI. This tension was caused by the threat Pan-Slavism posed on Austria-Hungary due to its high Slavic population and its recent annexation of Bosnia Herzegovina. Another tension-builder was that Russia, a Slavic nation and a super-power at the time, was fully supporting this movement, thereby indirectly challenging Austria-Hungary to control of its own people. The tension had been mounting long before WWI began, but it was the breaking of this tension through the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand that triggered the War. Serbia wanted unification of all Slavs, most of which were under Austro-Hungarian rule, and the tension this created resulted in one of the worst wars the world has ever seen. The bulk of the tension was created between Serbia and Austria-Hungary through the spread of Pan-Slavism. Pan-Slavism is a term used to refer to the advocation of the unification of all Slavic people throughout Eastern Europe (Kohn 9). A person is considered Slavic if they belong to one of the many people groups in Eastern Europe (modern day Poland and Ukraine), Western Russia, and the Balkans (Coetzee 124). Pan-Slavism sought to unite the Slavic peoples that had been oppressed for centuries by the Austro-Hungarians and the Ottoman Turks. Serbia was the main proponent of Pan-Slavism in the Balkans as it sought to unite the Slavs in the area after the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary in 1908, and with it, half a million Slavs (Cirkovic 243). The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was violently opposed by the Slavs in Serbia
WWI. This tension was caused by the threat Pan-Slavism posed on Austria-Hungary due to its high Slavic population and its recent annexation of Bosnia Herzegovina. Another tension-builder was that Russia, a Slavic nation and a super-power at the time, was fully supporting this movement, thereby indirectly challenging Austria-Hungary to control of its own people. The tension had been mounting long before WWI began, but it was the breaking of this tension through the assassination of Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand that triggered the War. Serbia wanted unification of all Slavs, most of which were under Austro-Hungarian rule, and the tension this created resulted in one of the worst wars the world has ever seen. The bulk of the tension was created between Serbia and Austria-Hungary through the spread of Pan-Slavism. Pan-Slavism is a term used to refer to the advocation of the unification of all Slavic people throughout Eastern Europe (Kohn 9). A person is considered Slavic if they belong to one of the many people groups in Eastern Europe (modern day Poland and Ukraine), Western Russia, and the Balkans (Coetzee 124). Pan-Slavism sought to unite the Slavic peoples that had been oppressed for centuries by the Austro-Hungarians and the Ottoman Turks. Serbia was the main proponent of Pan-Slavism in the Balkans as it sought to unite the Slavs in the area after the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina to Austria-Hungary in 1908, and with it, half a million Slavs (Cirkovic 243). The annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was violently opposed by the Slavs in Serbia
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