According to Mark Mazower, the events of the First World War are attributed to the “culmination of the entanglement of the Balkan liberation struggles with the European system” (79). The conflict between Austria-Hungary and Serbia over Bosnia-Herzegovina proves this. However, to understand the struggle between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, we must go back more than a hundred years before the First World War. The liberation struggles of Bosnia and Herzegovina against Austria-Hungary led to the First World War. In the early 19th century, educated individuals in Eastern Europe began to believe in the concept that members of a nation possessed civil rights. Traditionalist empires had subjects who “were expected to loyally obey and serve their dominion, whose position was considered sanctioned by divine law” (Seton-Watson 15). A new form of thought appears, nationalism, secular and democratic. Many leaders found it difficult to accept this idea and thus came the “spring of nations” or the revolutions of 1848. The revolution of 1848 boiled down to an attempt to create a single German state; however, he was met with resistance. Ultimately, after several "constitutional experiments" and uncertainty during this period, the Compromise of 1867 sought to resolve the remaining issues. The compromise “recognized the sovereign equality of the two states – Austria and Hungary – and united them under a common ruler, Franz Joseph, as emperor in Austria and king in Hungary” (Mason 6). However, such compromise failed to resolve this major problem within the empire: nationality. Every nationality within the empire believed that they could only be free outside the monarchy and, secondly, that all were in struggle with...... middle of paper ...... the Balkan States, Joseph had to quickly preserve the rest of the Empire; however, he did not realize the effect this would have on the Serbs regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina. This annexation was interpreted by the Serbian people as a measure contrary to themselves and their wishes. After that, Russia, an enemy of the Habsburg Empire, and Serbia demanded compensation from the Austrians in exchange for the annexation of Bosnia; however, their wish was not granted. This conflict led to World War I with several other countries involved based on their alliances. Johnson states: “Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and Russia mobilized to support Serbia. Germany declared war on Russia, which brought France and eventually England into the conflict” (Johnson 164). Therefore, Mazower's hypothesis turned out to be true: liberation struggles led to the start of World War I..