How did Hungarian control of Croatia affect Austria-Hungary’s relationship with Serbia?

The Hungarian control of Croatia, established under the 1868 Nagodba, significantly strained the relationship between Austria-Hungary and Serbia.12

Following the Ausgleich of 1867, Croatia was placed under Hungarian jurisdiction, where it was subjected to a policy of Magyarization. This regime exacerbated tensions within the empire by playing the local Croat and Serb populations against each other to consolidate Hungarian power. As the political position of the Serb population in the empire became increasingly precarious, the Dual Monarchy faced growing hostility from the independent Serbian state, which sought to unify all South Slavs.34

Hungarian domination in Croatia, combined with the broader nationalities problem within the empire, ultimately turned Serbia into a mortal enemy of the Dual Monarchy. This antagonism was further fueled by economic conflicts, such as the Pig War, and the Bosnian crisis of 1908, which collectively pushed Serbia into the Russian camp and contributed to the eventual outbreak of World War I.4536