Example research essay topic: Austria Hungary Serbian Government - 570 words

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Although the coming of the First World War has aroused much interest and controversy, the question of immediate causes can be answered with considerable certainty. Darwinism, a theory developed into practice in politics in the form of aggressive colonial conquests has greatly worsened international relations in the early twentieth century. A frantic rush to plant the flag over as many people and as much territory as possible, had serious consequences. Imperialism resulted new tensions among competing European states, and lead to the triumph of nationalism. Nationalism was a crucial and underlying precondition of the Great War. It was in the form Serbian aspirations and the pan-German versus pan-Slavic racism of some fanatics.

Nationalism also drove a spiraling arms race. Such great powers as Great Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary nearly tripled their expenditures on armaments in the period between 1870 and 1914. This led to distrust and hostility between the two most powerful nations: Germany and Great Britain. The leading nations of Europe were soon divided into two aggressive blocks to maintain the balance. On June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were assassinated by Bosnian revolutionaries during a state visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. As Austrian-Hungarian government soon found out, that the revolutionary group, dedicated to uniting all Serbians in a single state, was secretly supported by members of the Serbian government.

Although the leaders of Austria-Hungary could not know all the details of Serbia s involvement in the assassination plot, they concluded after some hesitation that Serbia had to be severely punished once and for all. In each country people believed that their country had been wronged, and they rallied to defend it. Patriotic nationalism brought unity in the short run. After nearly a month, on July 23 Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an unconditional ultimatum. The Serbian government had just forty-eight hours in which to agree to cease all subversion in Austria and all anti-Austrian propaganda in Serbia. These demands amounted to control of the Serbian state.

After Serbia s reply Austria began to mobilize and then declared war on Serbia on July 28. Thus we can state with certitude that Austria-Hungary deliberately started the Third Balkan War. Moreover, in spite of Russian intervention in the quarrel, Germany not only pushed Austria-Hungary, as its assuring ally, but was also responsible for turning a little war into the Great War by attacking neutral Belgium and then France, which Germany was rightfully suspecting of seeking revenge against them ever since Germany s unification by blood and iron, deprived France of Alsace and Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian war in 1870 1871. German violation of Belgian neutrality gave the British government the pretext and popular support necessary for entry into the war.

Thus, this chain of events first to the outbreak of the war. The great wars and great social revolutions often go hand in hand. We tend to forget about this connection. Nationalism, which so often turns to false national pride, a blinding passion of which we lose control, so it becomes self-terminating, with its nearsighted positions and corrupt views has been a barrier between nations throughout man history and has once again proved the world s interdependence and interconnection. Such obvious lessons that we have learned from the past soon become only a distant memory to us and we once again let history repeat itself, turning it into a repetitive and predictable cycle.

Research essay sample on Austria Hungary Serbian Government