Why were the Balkans known as the "power keg" of Europe?

Answer 1

it was POWDER keg, as in a keg of gunpowder.......and when the Balkans blew up,,,,,as they did regularly for 50 years from 1860-1914, they dragged other nations of Europe into it, culminating in an assassination in Sarajevo in 1914 that lead to :

World War 1
the collapse of the Hapsburg Empire
the collapse of the Russian Empire and the formation of Communist Soviet Union
The collapse of the German Empire and, 25 years later, the rise of Nazi Germany
the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Israel, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran
the emergence of the United States onto the world stage as a major power after 150 years of isolation

EVERYTHING that you know about history the last 100 years is because a student radical got a lucky chance to put two bullets into an Austrian Prince because his car took a wrong turn one spring day in the Balkans in 1914

Answer 2

cause their beer was really strong.

No, alas, they were the powder keg, for the reasons cited by the previous poster.