Question

How did the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the rise of Nationalism combine to spark WWI?

Answer 1

The short answer: it caused a domino effect because of all of the alliances made between the European nations at the time. Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a nationalist who believed that it would allow the Slavs in the south to join up and form their own nation.

What happened: After Archduke Ferdinand's assassination, Austria-Hungary's investigation revealed that Princip was associated, or had associates, with the Serbian military (who themselves had nothing to do with the assassination; Princip was part of an extremist group whose many members were Serbian).

Serbia eventually mobilized, there were some shots fired later, and Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The problem was that Serbia had a secret treaty with Russia who was part of an alliance with France and Britain. As soon as Austria-Hungary and its ally, Germany, moved, Russia and its allies were obligated to move as well in opposition to their alliance. The rest, as they say, is history.