What factors related to the Eastern Crisis contributed to the outbreak of World War 1?

Question

What factors related to the Eastern Crisis contributed to the outbreak of World War 1?

The Eastern Crisis pertains to problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire. Primary among these problems were the instability in the European territories that had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire. After the defeat of the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774), the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire appeared to be imminent. Several European powers engaged in a power struggle to safeguard their own national interests in the Ottoman domains.

More details are available in this discussion of the 'Eastern Question'.

Answer 1

There are two ways of looking at the Eastern Crisis as trigger for World War 1.

1. The brooding war in the Balkans caused unrest and hostilities expanded out from the region until a critical point was reached. Hostilities reached a tipping point when political figures begin getting assassinated (i.e. Franz Ferdinand heir to Austria-Hungary throne). This caused a cascade of international backlash.

2. European nations took sides in the Eastern Crisis, forging alliances based on self-interest. As sides were formed, hostility between the factions grew as war in the Balkans ensued.

Answer 2

The Eastern Crisis was certainly one of the factors that led to World War I, however it was not the only one.

• On the one hand, clearly the decay of the Ottoman Empire caused both Austria-Hungary and Russia to seek control over the Balkans. These two countries started WWI, mainly over their interests on the Balkans (with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand as casus belli).
• Yet the other countries joined the war willingly despite having no such interests. This cannot merely be explained by their alliances, they rather had their own interests. This is especially true for Germany that organized itself as a country merely a few decades before that and wanted to be perceived as a great power in Europe (seeking a "place in the sun"). A war was a chance for Germany to destroy the current balance of power and to establish a new one where Germany would dominate. If you look at the German pre-war foreign politics, there was a long series of conflicts with the British Empire and France and I would argue that Germany would end up at war with them one way or another.
• France was waiting for a chance to take revenge on Germany ever since the Germans beat them in 1871. In particular, they wanted to take back Alsace and Lorraine (something that they did after WWI) which are territories both Germany and France historically claimed their own.
• The British Empire defended its status of the strongest empire in this war: if there was one thing that the British absolutely couldn't use it was a strong German Empire dominating Europe.

So while the war started over a conflict on the Balkans, the reasons for the most countries to join it were entirely different ones. The main destabilizing factor in Europe was the newly unified German Empire which strived to change the balance - something that the established powers obviously opposed.