Agenda:
Navigating the Impact of the Sarajevo Assassination on Diplomacy and the Onset of World War I
For weeks, Europe has stood on the precipice of uncertainty following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, an act that has sent shockwaves throughout the continent. The immediate fallout from the assassination has triggered a chain reaction among Europe’s greatest powers, each bound by entangled treaties and driven by competing ambitions. Austria-Hungary’s pursuit of retribution risks provoking Russia’s defence of Slavic interests, while Germany, France, and Britain weigh their strategic imperatives.
Each nation moves with suspicion and urgency, throughout which ultimatums are issued and armies mobilise. With every passing day, Europe slides closer towards total war. The Vienna Crisis Council must rise to the moment, navigating the volatile aftermath of Sarajevo to preserve the fragile peace that still remains.
Prashast Jain
Chairperson, VCC
I, Prashast Jain, a 12th grader, am honoured to serve as the Chairperson of the Vienna Crisis Council. My interests lie at the crossroads of entrepreneurship, history, and finance, fields that have shaped the way I view challenges, not as obstacles but as opportunities to create and grow. Along the way, quizzing, research, debating, and management have all become more than just activities for me; they are ways to question, to learn, and to connect ideas across different spaces. To me, the best way to predict the future is to create it, and I carry that belief into this council, where dialogue, strategy, and foresight will decide how history unfolds.
This year, our committee will deliberate upon the Sarajevo Assassination of 28 June 1914, the spark that set Europe on the path to the First World War and changed the course of history. The killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, may have seemed like an isolated act of violence, but in truth, it struck at the heart of a continent already divided by alliances, rivalries, and imperial ambition. What followed was not just a response to an assassination, but the unravelling of a fragile balance of power, where one event cascaded into a crisis that engulfed the world.