Source: CNN
On June 28, 1914, a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist named Gavrilo Princip fired into an open-top car traveling through the streets of Sarajevo, carrying Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austria-Hungarian Empire.
Within a month, the assassination set off a chain reaction that unleashed World War I, leaving tens of millions dead and ultimately setting the stage for World War II and, indirectly, many of the conflicts we see today.
On December 19, 2016, a 22-year-old Turkish police officer named Mevlut Mert Altintas, pulled out a pistol in an art gallery and killed the Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov.
Much like in 1914, the world today is brittle with tensions. Nationalism is on the rise, political ideas are causing ferment. The old order seems to be breaking down.
Is the killing of the Russian ambassador going to set off a new world war? At this moment, the immediate risk that this particular event will be the trigger for a new global conflagration seems quite low.
Categories: Europe and Australia, Russia, Turkey