Labor migration as a prelude to World War I

"At the same time as the political tensions increased in Europe around 1900, an international labor market was developing. More and more proletarians from different parts of the continent searched for labor opportunities in the center of the agrarian and industrial capitalism. In several countries, including Russia, capitalists more and more actively recruited labor migrants for seasonal work. The labor migrants became a political issue as a part of the trade negotiations between Germany and Russia. Also, the Austrian colonization and political expansion in the Balkans can be looked upon in a perspective of (labor) migration. Class and ethnic conflicts coincided and escalated into an international conflict."