THE INTELLIGENCE NATURE OF A TERRORIST ACT: THE CASE OF THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANZ FERDINAND

Vol..4, Issue 9 ISSN:23490012 I.F. 8.1 NOVEMBER 9 Authors  Erekle Osiashvili  Undergraduate Student, Faculty of Social and Humanities Sciences, Caucasus International University, Tbilisi, Georgia  Luka Kvitsiani  Graduate, Faculty of Social and Humanities Sciences, Caucasus International University, Tbilisi, Georgia  Davit Kukhalashvili  Director, National and Corporate Security Research Center; Doctor of History; Doctor of Professional Security; Associate Professor, Caucasus International University, Tbilisi, Georgia Abstract Foreign states, based on their strategic national interests, always have target objects (including high-ranking officials) to obtain significant benefits from the target country through intelligence influence and penetration. Keywords: Intelligence Infiltration;, International Relations;, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Terrorism, Sarajevo Assassination, World War I, , interethnic harmony and solidarity, Intelligence Service, Securitization A terrorist act is a crucial means for achieving state interests through intelligence activities. In many cases, terrorist organizations and states share common targets. The execution of terrorist attacks under the cover of intelligence services provides a favorable condition for the covert and successful realization of state objectives. THE INTELLIGENCE NATURE OF A TERRORIST ACT: THE CASE OF THE ASSASSINATION OF FRANZ FERDINAND Vol..4, Issue 9 ISSN:23490012 I.F. 8.1 NOVEMBER 10 The successful implementation of terrorist acts is facilitated by mobilizing public opinion, including through the dissemination of disinformation within the framework of intelligence propaganda. In the process of eliminating high-ranking officials through terrorist acts, the primary objects of intelligence propaganda are the government and society. Consequently, organizing anti-government sentiments before and after the terrorist act is a significant organizational process aimed at portraying the terrorist act as an exceptional necessity. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, took place on June 28, 1914, in Sarajevo, serving as a key catalyst for an international political crisis that ultimately led to the outbreak of World War I.3Ferdinand had traveled to Sarajevo to participate in the opening of the National Museum. The organizers of the assassination were members of the Serbian terrorist organization "Black Hand" and associated underground groups, whose objective was to intensify the revolutionary movement against Austria-Hungary. The actual perpetrator of the assassination was Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb revolutionary.It is noteworthy that the terrorists were well-informed about the date, time, and route of the visit, allowing them to identify vulnerable locations to successfully execute their plan. With a high degree of probability, the terrorists had significant sources within the police, intelligence services, and local authorities.4The process of positioning and relocating the individuals involved in the terrorist act was managed by Danilo Ilić. In 1913, Ilić met with a Serbian colonel, likely an intelligence recruiter, from whom he received instructions to recruit other participants in the assassination plot, using coercion and intimidation. This meeting laid the foundation for Ilić’s dispatch to Belgrade and subsequent meetings with representatives of Serbian military intelligence. Ilić was also privy to the details of the target’s movement route.As part of the operation, Ilić arranged for terrorist Mehmedbašić to be stationed outside a café along the target’s Vol..4, Issue 9 ISSN:23490012 I.F. 8.1 NOVEMBER 11 route, armed with a bomb. However, the attack at this location failed due to misjudgment in timing. Nearby was another terrorist, Vaso Čubrilović, armed with a revolver and a bomb, but he also failed to act for similar reasons. A third terrorist, Nedeljko Čabrinović, was positioned by the Miljacka River, waiting for the target. At 10:10 AM, Čabrinović managed to approach Franz Ferdinand’s vehicle and threw a bomb, which the Archduke deflected with his hand, as evidenced by burns on his palm.5The bomb exploded under another car in the convoy, disabling the vehicle, creating a crater one foot in diameter and 6.5 inches deep, and injuring 20 people. After the attack, Čabrinović swallowed a cyanide pill and jumped into the river to commit suicide, but the poison proved ineffective, causing only vomiting. After being severely beaten by the crowd, he was arrested by the police. The convoy proceeded towards the city hall.The situation along the high-ranking official’s movement route indicates a failure to ensure the security of a foreign leader. This suggests that both the police and counterintelligence services either lacked prior intelligence on the planned attack or possessed such information but failed to take preventive measures. Even after the attack, security agencies were unable to restrict the target’s movement, possibly due to non-compliance by the protected individual himself. Consequently, after visiting the city hall, Franz Ferdinand and his wife proceeded by car to the hospital to see those injured in the attack.At 10:45 AM, Princip, who had already learned about the failed assassination attempt, spotted Franz Ferdinand’s car outside a shop, deviating from the planned route. Seizing the opportunity, he fired two shots with a semi-automatic pistol, ultimately killing both the Archduke and his wife. The circumstances of the attack suggest that the deviation of the vehicle from its route may not have been coincidental. Further reinforcing this assumption is the fact that a key potential witness—the driver—was not eliminated by the assassin.6Analysis of open sources suggests that the mastermind behind the terrorist act was Serbian military intelligence. The agency’s representative, Dragutin Dimitrijević, known as Apis, Vol..4, Issue 9 ISSN:23490012 I.F. 8.1 NOVEMBER 12 later admitted in a Serbian court that he had ordered the assassination of Franz Ferdinand while serving as the head of the intelligence department. In his testimony, he stated: "I instructed Malobabić to organize the assassination during Franz Ferdinand’s stay in Sarajevo."7It is worth noting that in 1914, Rade Malobabić was leading Serbian military intelligence’s covert operations against Austria-Hungary. His name appears in Serbian archival documents captured by Austria-Hungary during the war, detailing operations under his command involving the smuggling of arms, ammunition, and agents from Serbia into AustriaHungary.In 1914, all participants in the terrorist attack were arrested, including Mehmedbašić in Montenegro. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, a term that was later reduced, and in 1919, he was released under the condition that he remained within the country. With a high degree of probability, Austria-Hungary had infiltrated him even before the assassination or, in exchange for his early release, he actively cooperated with investigative authorities regarding the attack. References: 1Mihai Olteanu, The Copenhagen School’s widening security theory in relation to cybersecurity. Applicability and Implications, Security and Defence Quarterly 2024;48(4):40-58, https://securityanddefence.pl/The-CopenhagenSchool-s-widening-security-theory-in-relation-to-cybersecurityApplicability,193049,0,2.html2Alexander Moseley, Political Realism, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP), United Kingdom, https://iep.utm.edu/polreal/3Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand: Topics in Chronicling America.https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-assassinationfranz-ferdinand4Robert Wilde, The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 1914. January 30, 2018. https://www.thoughtco.com/assassinationof-archduke-franz-ferdinand-p2-1222038