a fairly common view of Europe as a “powder keg” on the eve of World War I, discussion help

There is a fairly common view of Europe as a “powder keg” on the eve of World War I, to which the assassination of the Grand Duke Ferdinand in Sarajevo merely provided a “spark.” Professor Merriman veers toward this point of view. Others counter with an impression of Europe in 1914 as having reached the very pinnacle of “civilization,” a level that has never been recovered. This idea is represented in Stefan Zwieg’s memoir, ”The World of Security.”For the latter, the outbreak of the war is best explained as a tragic accident. We need not accept either without reservation, but based on the Learning Resources, or other sources you are aware of, which interpretation do you think holds more weight? If you lean towards the “powder keg” view, try to identify the key fault lines — or at least one. If you lean towards the “civilization” view, then you should explain why these civilized people could not stand back from the brink. And please identify your sources.