Nuffield Lecture Theatre A, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton.

The murders in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were notoriously the ‘spark' that lit up the Great War of 1914-1918. They were evidence of an unresolved ‘South Slav problem' in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose imperial mission was at odds with popular aspirations in the Balkans. The regional context in which the murders occurred remains controversial. Some aspects have been well considered by historians over the past century but many are completely under-researched. Above all, there have been few attempts to think about the causes and repercussions of the South Slav problem in the interaction of its local, regional and international dimensions. In 1918, as Austria-Hungary collapsed the new state of Yugoslavia would be created on its ruins.

Keynote speakers are:Christopher Clark (Cambridge), Lothar Höbelt (Vienna).

Registration closes 25th September 2014.