Published October 15, 2026 | Version v1
Causal Graph Open

WWI rap battle DAG

  • 1 University of Ottawa

Visualisation

Description

Did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand cause World War One?

Contextual details

Research question

According to the BBC rap battle Origins, what caused World War One to break out in 1914?

Nodes

11 nodes
  • Franz Ferdinand assassinated Exposure Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary, is shot by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo (June 1914).
  • World War One Outcome Outbreak of a general European war in August 1914.
  • Pan-Slav nationalism Strength of the movement to unite South Slavic peoples in one state free of Austro-Hungarian rule (Princip's 'United Slav Nation').
  • Alliances The two rival blocs: Germany with Austria-Hungary, and the Triple Entente (Russia, France, Britain), plus Russia's protection of Serbia and Britain's guarantee to Belgium.
  • German imperial ambition Unmeasured Kaiser Wilhelm II's aim of territorial expansion and a lasting German empire, which George V blames for the crisis.
  • Naval race with Britain Competition between the British and German navies (dreadnought building) before 1914.
  • Austria-Hungary attacks Serbia Austria-Hungary mobilises and goes to war against Serbia in retaliation for the assassination.
  • Russia comes to Serbia's aid Russia mobilises against Austria-Hungary to defend Serbia.
  • Germany marches through Belgium Germany goes to war with Russia and France and sends its army through neutral Belgium to reach France.
  • The Kaiser can't back down Unmeasured Wilhelm II refuses any compromise because backing down would make him look foolish.
  • Britain keeps its word to Belgium Britain declares war on Germany to honour its guarantee of Belgian neutrality.

References

  1. The cause of World War One! Origins: Rap Battle. (2014, June 24). [Broadcast]. BBC. https://youtu.be/kCEUZ4rFiac

Code

Original

The graph exactly as it was submitted.

opencausal_hqxqj0gm.json

Derived

The same graph, converted to other common formats.

This JSON follows CausalJSON 0.2, the Open Causal Graph Format.

{
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  "graph": {
    "id": "hqxqj0gm",
    "doi": "10.83031/hqxqj0gm",
    "version": 1,
    "title": "WWI rap battle DAG",
    "description": "Did the assassination of Franz Ferdinand cause World War One?",
    "research_question": "According to the BBC rap battle Origins, what caused World War One to break out in 1914?",
    "type": "other",
    "created": "2026-10-15T23:39:13+00:00",
    "authors": [
      {
        "given_name": "Vincent",
        "family_name": "Martin-Schreiber",
        "orcid": "0000-0002-2006-6598",
        "affiliations": [
          {
            "name": "University of Ottawa"
          }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "submitter": {
      "given_name": "Vincent",
      "family_name": "Martin-Schreiber",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2006-6598"
    },
    "license": "CC-BY-SA-4.0",
    "rights_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode",
    "publisher": "Open Causal",
    "related_identifiers": [
      {
        "identifier": "https://youtu.be/kCEUZ4rFiac",
        "scheme": "URL",
        "relation_type": "References"
      }
    ],
    "references": [
      "The cause of World War One! Origins: Rap Battle. (2014, June 24). [Broadcast]. BBC. https://youtu.be/kCEUZ4rFiac"
    ],
    "language": "en",
    "layout": {
      "coordinate_system": "screen"
    }
  },
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism",
      "label": "Pan-Slav nationalism",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Strength of the movement to unite South Slavic peoples in one state free of Austro-Hungarian rule (Princip's 'United Slav Nation').",
      "position": {
        "x": 165.0,
        "y": 441.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_alliances",
      "label": "Alliances",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "The two rival blocs: Germany with Austria-Hungary, and the Triple Entente (Russia, France, Britain), plus Russia's protection of Serbia and Britain's guarantee to Belgium.",
      "position": {
        "x": 165.0,
        "y": 110.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_german_imperial_ambition",
      "label": "German imperial ambition",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Kaiser Wilhelm II's aim of territorial expansion and a lasting German empire, which George V blames for the crisis.",
      "unmeasured": true,
      "position": {
        "x": 165.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_naval_race_with_britain",
      "label": "Naval race with Britain",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Competition between the British and German navies (dreadnought building) before 1914.",
      "position": {
        "x": 307.0,
        "y": 110.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated",
      "label": "Franz Ferdinand assassinated",
      "role": "exposure",
      "description": "Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to Austria-Hungary, is shot by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo (June 1914).",
      "position": {
        "x": 307.0,
        "y": 441.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia",
      "label": "Austria-Hungary attacks Serbia",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Austria-Hungary mobilises and goes to war against Serbia in retaliation for the assassination.",
      "position": {
        "x": 448.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid",
      "label": "Russia comes to Serbia's aid",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Russia mobilises against Austria-Hungary to defend Serbia.",
      "position": {
        "x": 590.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium",
      "label": "Germany marches through Belgium",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Germany goes to war with Russia and France and sends its army through neutral Belgium to reach France.",
      "position": {
        "x": 732.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down",
      "label": "The Kaiser can't back down",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Wilhelm II refuses any compromise because backing down would make him look foolish.",
      "unmeasured": true,
      "position": {
        "x": 307.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium",
      "label": "Britain keeps its word to Belgium",
      "role": "covariate",
      "description": "Britain declares war on Germany to honour its guarantee of Belgian neutrality.",
      "position": {
        "x": 873.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "node_t0_world_war_one",
      "label": "World War One",
      "role": "outcome",
      "description": "Outbreak of a general European war in August 1914.",
      "position": {
        "x": 1015.0,
        "y": 276.0
      }
    }
  ],
  "edges": [
    {
      "source": "node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism",
      "target": "node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism",
      "target": "node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid",
      "type": "undirected",
      "curvature": 0.65
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_alliances",
      "target": "node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid",
      "type": "undirected",
      "curvature": 0.5
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_alliances",
      "target": "node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium",
      "type": "undirected",
      "curvature": 0.5
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_alliances",
      "target": "node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium",
      "type": "undirected",
      "curvature": 0.35
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_german_imperial_ambition",
      "target": "node_t0_naval_race_with_britain",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_german_imperial_ambition",
      "target": "node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_naval_race_with_britain",
      "target": "node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated",
      "target": "node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia",
      "target": "node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid",
      "target": "node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium",
      "target": "node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium",
      "type": "undirected"
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down",
      "target": "node_t0_world_war_one",
      "type": "undirected",
      "curvature": 0.25
    },
    {
      "source": "node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium",
      "target": "node_t0_world_war_one",
      "type": "undirected"
    }
  ]
}
source,target,edge_type
node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism,node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated,undirected
node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism,node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid,undirected
node_t0_alliances,node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid,undirected
node_t0_alliances,node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium,undirected
node_t0_alliances,node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium,undirected
node_t0_german_imperial_ambition,node_t0_naval_race_with_britain,undirected
node_t0_german_imperial_ambition,node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down,undirected
node_t0_naval_race_with_britain,node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium,undirected
node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated,node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia,undirected
node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia,node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid,undirected
node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid,node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium,undirected
node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium,node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium,undirected
node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down,node_t0_world_war_one,undirected
node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium,node_t0_world_war_one,undirected
graph {
node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism [label="Pan-Slav nationalism",pos="165,441"]
node_t0_alliances [label="Alliances",pos="165,110"]
node_t0_german_imperial_ambition [latent,label="German imperial ambition",pos="165,276"]
node_t0_naval_race_with_britain [label="Naval race with Britain",pos="307,110"]
node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated [exposure,label="Franz Ferdinand assassinated",pos="307,441"]
node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia [label="Austria-Hungary attacks Serbia",pos="448,276"]
node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid [label="Russia comes to Serbia's aid",pos="590,276"]
node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium [label="Germany marches through Belgium",pos="732,276"]
node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down [latent,label="The Kaiser can't back down",pos="307,276"]
node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium [label="Britain keeps its word to Belgium",pos="873,276"]
node_t0_world_war_one [outcome,label="World War One",pos="1015,276"]
node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism -- node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated
node_t0_pan_slav_nationalism -- node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid
node_t0_alliances -- node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid
node_t0_alliances -- node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium
node_t0_alliances -- node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium
node_t0_german_imperial_ambition -- node_t0_naval_race_with_britain
node_t0_german_imperial_ambition -- node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down
node_t0_naval_race_with_britain -- node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium
node_t0_franz_ferdinand_assassinated -- node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia
node_t0_austria_hungary_attacks_serbia -- node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid
node_t0_russia_comes_to_serbia_s_aid -- node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium
node_t0_germany_marches_through_belgium -- node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium
node_t0_the_kaiser_can_t_back_down -- node_t0_world_war_one
node_t0_britain_keeps_its_word_to_belgium -- node_t0_world_war_one
}

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