During this period nationalist groups became increasingly intolerant of each other and ever ready to go to war. The major European powers, in turn, manipulated the nationalist aspirations of the subject peoples in europe to further their own imperialist aims. The most serious source of nationalist tension in Europe after 1871 was the ares called the Balkans.

The Balkans which was a region comprising of geographical and ethnical variation comprising modern day Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro whose inhabitants were broadly known as the Slavs. The Balkan states were fircely jealous of each other and each hoped to gain more territory at the expense of the others. Matters were further complicated because the Balkans also became the scene of big power rivalry.

Each power- Russia, Germany, England and Austro-Hungary – was keen on countering the hold of other powers over the Balkans, and extending its own control over the area. This led to a serious of wars in the region and finally the First World War.