Balkan Nationalism as WWI cause

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…the war, but only to the extent that it was just catalyst of the war. The arms race, imperialism, and alliances had Europe set up for a large and complex war before Balkan tension became serious. Balkan nationalism began the war with the assassination of Franze Ferdinand, but it was the condition which Europe was in that projected the war. Militarism, alliances, and imperialism poured the gas over Europe, and Balkan nationalism lit the match.