Small power in conflict with great power: a case study of the Serbia and Austro‐Hungary conflict

Marolov, Dejan (2021) Small power in conflict with great power: a case study of the Serbia and Austro‐Hungary conflict. In: International relations and area studies: focus on Western Balkans. Universitatea Babeş‐Bolyai Presa Universitară. ISBN 978‐606‐37‐1323‐3

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the conflict between Serbia and Austria‐Hungary that practically led to the First World War. All the relevant circumstances and actors of international relations are presented from the respective historical epoch. The focus will be on Serbia and Austria‐Hungary. We will
try to present thenosptio that were open to Serbia, the choices it made, and
why it was decided that way. The goal is to see how two neighboring countries that started with excellent relations ended up in a war of total destruction. In all of this, it is important to determine a certain paradigm of behavior of a small state in a conflict with great power as well as the possible influence of third forces as allies. The above will be analyzed through some aspect of structural realism. The conclusion is that both countries believed in the inevitability of a military solution sooner or later but the support of their great allies were crucial. For Austria‐Hungary, this was a war to preserve its prestige and status as a great power and ensure its internal stability. For Serbia, it was a war for freedom and the preservation of independence which they hoped could grow into a war of unification with the rest South Slavic lands that were part of the Habsburg monarchy. The two neighbors were kingdoms and, hence, this was not an ideological clash in this part. Nonetheless, there seems to have been a direct clash between the multinational concept of the Habsburg Empire and the national concept of the Serbian kingdom.

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	Social Sciences > Political Science
Divisions:	Faculty of Law
Depositing User:	Dejan Marolov
Date Deposited:	27 Dec 2021 08:13
Last Modified:	30 Dec 2021 08:25
URI:	https://eprints.ugd.edu.mk/id/eprint/28927

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