Ethnic and religious diversity: The Balkans region was home to a diverse mix of ethnic groups and religions, including Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, and Turks. This diversity often led to tensions and conflicts between different groups.
Competing nationalist aspirations: The 19th century saw the rise of nationalism across Europe, and the Balkans was no exception. Different ethnic groups in the region sought to establish their own nation-states, leading to conflicts and territorial disputes.
Great Power rivalries: The Balkans was also a region of strategic importance, and the major European powers (Austria-Hungary, Russia, France, Britain, Italy, and Germany) competed for influence and control in the region. These rivalries often exacerbated existing conflicts and made it difficult to find peaceful resolutions.
Failed governance: The Ottoman Empire, which had controlled the Balkans for centuries, was in decline by the late 19th century and was unable to effectively govern the region. This created a power vacuum that allowed for the rise of nationalist movements and increased instability.
Specific events: Some specific events that contributed to conflicts in the Balkans during the 1900s include:
- The two Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, which resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of new nation-states in the region
- The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo in 1914, which sparked World War I
- The breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, which led to a series of bloody conflicts, including the Bosnian War and the Kosovo War