Want to learn the ideas in The Sleepwalkers better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of The Sleepwalkers
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Sleepwalkers, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Christopher Clark.
1-Page Summary of The Sleepwalkers
Overview
The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark (2012) is a comprehensive account of the events leading up to World War I. The author contends that historians have been too focused on who was responsible for starting the war, and his argument is that it’s more fruitful to focus on how things happened than why they happened.
During the decades preceding World War I, most European powers agreed that the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires were on their last legs. They had sustained massive casualties in two wars, and it was obvious to everyone that they would not be able to hold up for much longer.
While Europe was busy forming alliances, the Ottoman Empire and its people were under great pressure. The empire’s territory was shrinking, especially in the Balkans as Slavic nations gained independence from Turkey. As a result of this loss of land and power, nationalist movements began to form among Turks who wanted their own country. In 1908, these groups formed an organization called the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which supported a revolution against the Sultan that took place in July 1909. The CUP then established a new government with Mehmet Vahdettin at its head as Grand Vizier.
Serbia was involved in a number of alliances during the early 1900s. They were part of the Balkan League, which fought against Turkey for independence. Other countries included Bulgaria and Greece. In addition, Serbia had to deal with an insurgency in Macedonia that threatened its borders. The Serbian government turned to extremist groups for support, but officially denied any involvement with them so as not to jeopardize international relations.
In the decades preceding 1914, neighboring Austria-Hungary was grappling with its dwindling power and the ensuing destabilization of the Balkans. The Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph ruled over two parliamentary states: Austria and Hungary. Serbia’s 1903 revolution had marked a decisive change in Belgrade’s foreign policy, including its policy toward the Habsburg Empire. After 1905, Serbia began to favor relations with France as a result of secret diplomacy between them that resulted in France loaning money to Serbia in exchange for selling weapons to it.
The Balkan region was a hotbed of tension between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Serbia. One of the most controversial events that heightened tensions occurred in 1908, when Austria-Hungary formally annexed Bosnia-Herzegovina, which many Serbs believed to be part of their territory. Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Habsburg throne and a proponent of peace, advocated against war with Serbia. However, Conrad von Hötzendorf, chief of the Austrian army’s general staff department (responsible for war preparation), wanted to go to war with Serbia at any cost. Russia strengthened its relations with Serbia as well due to shared Slavic interests and animosity towards Austria-Hungary.
In 1911, European colonial powers were fighting in Africa. France sent military forces to Morocco, and Italy declared war on Libya. This weakened the Ottoman Empire, which no longer enjoyed Britain’s full support because of its alliance with Russia.
The Libyan War prompted the Balkan States, chief among them Serbia and Bulgaria, to join forces against their Ottoman occupiers. In 1912 they were successful in Albania and Macedonia. As a response to this success Russia almost mobilized its armies against Austria-Hungary during the winter crisis of 1912 to 1913 because it was concerned about Serbian power in Albania and Macedonia. During summer 1913 Serbia and Bulgaria fought over these territories with Serbia consolidating its power there.
