Die Achse des Guten: William Rees-Mogg: another Sarajevo moment avoided

Since 1914, the major powers have been concerned to avoid another Sarajevo moment, in which the world tumbled into war by accident… No two historic events are identical, but there are disquieting resemblances between the Serbian crisis as it stood in July 1914 and the Georgian crisis as it stands in August 2008. There is the Russian factor that is central to both crises; there are conflicting nationalisms; there is the widespread feeling of anxiety. In 1914, Austria-Hungary was afraid of being let down by Germany, Germany was afraid of the growing strength of Russia, Russia was afraid of being let down by France, France was afraid of being let down by Britain, and Britain was alarmed by the growth of the German Navy. Every major power felt threatened. In the event, Serbia’s rejection of the Austrian note pulled all of them... [read full story]