... occurred in Sarajevo. The assassination of the Arch duke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Habsburg monarchy had prolific consequences for the future of Europe. The severe tensions between Austro-Hungary and Serbia which had been simmering since the arrival to power of a nationalistic pan-Serbian dynasty in Serbia, were brought to the fore. Austria feared an internal uprising among its minority groups, encouraged by this new pan-Slav state. It threatened to upset the delicate 'balanced state of mutual dissatisfaction'1 between their ethnic groups that had ensured Austro-Hungary's survival. Austro-Hungary officials therefore sought measures to counteract Serbia's growing power, aggrandised by their success in the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. However their options were limited by the fragility of their internal ethnic composition and any attempt to annexe Serbia would increase its Serbian population and further serve to destabilise its domestic situation. Thus it desired Serbia as a meek satellite state which ...

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