Ideology of Austria-Hungary? - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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The First World War (1914-1918).
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#14074839
Each combatant in WW1 had an ideology uniting its people- the primary one was nationalism, often accentuated by religious fervor, Orthodoxy for Russia and Islam for the Ottomans, for example.

What was the ideology of Austria-Hungary, a multi-national, multi-confessional empire? What did the government of A-H do to unite its many peoples under a single banner?
#14074853
They were conservatives who wished to preserve the Congress of Vienna chaired by Metternich, which meant taking a stand against nationalism, liberalism, socialism and anything else that threatened the stability of the Empire.

They tried to unite the Empire, at least the Austrian part, by giving equal rights for all ethnic groups and the right to be educated in their native tongue, in an attempt to stave of nationalistic feelings in the Empire. The Hungarians on the other hand imposed their language and culture on other ethnic groups and caused much of the ethnic tensions in the Empire.

Article 19 of the 1867 "Basic State Act" (Staatsgrundgesetz), valid only for the Cisleithanian (Austrian) part of Austria-Hungary wrote:All races of the empire have equal rights, and every race has an inviolable right to the preservation and use of its own nationality and language. The equality of all customary languages ("landesübliche Sprache") in school, office and public life, is recognized by the state. In those territories in which several races dwell, the public and educational institutions are to be so arranged that, without applying compulsion to learn a second country language ("Landessprache"), each of the races receives the necessary means of education in its own language.
#14074866
Yes, but loyalty to the Hapsburgs was encouraged amongst the population on what basis? Why would the average citizen of Austria-Hungary care about the faith of the Empire?

Perhaps there was no uniting ideology- hence why they were crushed.
#14074914
Perhaps there was no uniting ideology- hence why they were crushed.


This.

Austria-Hungary had internal problems long before WW1. The Empire was very old and the uniting factor was the Habsburg Dynasty. When nationalism rose during the 19th century, the monarchy tried to mediate through that. The biggest "foreign part" of the Empire, Hungary, was upgraded in 1867 and had limited autonomy, hence the name "Austria-Hungary" (before it was just "Austria").
Second thing was the Emperor Franz Joseph I. He rose to power in 1848 when he was 18 and he was Emperor until his death in 1916. Having an Emperor rule over such a long time can also be something of a "uniting bond" as it feels like you have an "immortal emperor".

However, all those nationality-conflicts were barely under the rug. When things became tough during WW1, the Empire was unable to cope and therefore collapsed completely. The structure was still from the old times before new ideas like liberalism, nationalism and socialism (18th century), somehow managed to get through the 19th century unscathed, but it was unable to survive in the 20th century. Nobody wanted the Empire to continue after 1918, so it ended.
#14075423
Austria-Hungary was really just an example of old school monarchy. The population were supposed to be loyal to the monarch because well... they were the monarch. While other monarchies had adopted more modern ideologies to to shore up their support this probably wasn't the case for Austria-Hungary. Part of that probably was the considerable existing divisions between the peoples within their territory which would have left little basis for a common ideal in the first place. It may also have been that the monarchy was just a bit 'old fashioned' and didn't see the point of introducing elements of popular nationalism or what have you. They would hardly have been the only royals in history that didn't see the writing on the wall because they had taken their position for granted.
#14080168
often accentuated by religious fervor, Orthodoxy for Russia and Islam for the Ottomans, for example.

Islam also for the Germans. :lol: That crazy old Hajji Wilhelm and his crazy (and entirely unsuccessful) Jihad against the British Empire.

What was the ideology of Austria-Hungary, a multi-national, multi-confessional empire?

Gott erhalte Kaiser Franz - in every language of the empire.


What did the government of A-H do to unite its many peoples under a single banner?

Avoid pursuing any policies that would antagonize relations with the Hungarians. The Hungarian government repressed its minorities, including the Serbs and, well the rest is history.
#14766035
There was no uniting ideology. For constituent parts it was favourable to be part of it as it had economical and military benefits. A small country like Belgium was vulnerable economically and totally dependent on some other country (Britain) for its existence. Poland was divided up as it had no allies that would support it. That pretty much stopped all development there. Parts that made Austria-Hungary preferred it over foreign rule or independence until 20th century. Habsburgs tried to keep peace and not antagonize it's nationalities. Much of the railway system was built during the time of Austria-Hungary and many large companies that lasted over 100 years have their origin in that time. A common "country" favoured everyone which was later copied by the EU.

I wouldn't even say it was unstable. It lasted quite long given it was fighting on so many fronts and couldn't manipulate people with propaganda like France, Germany, Russia to fight in the war. The main reason for dissolution of Austria-Hungary was Entente winning the WW1 as according to peace terms its parts had right to seek self determination - independence. In late 1918 when offensive in Italy failed and US were sending troops it was clear to everyone that the war cannot be won no matter how high the losses will be and troops started leaving fronts, heading home. Without the loss of war or different peace terms it would not have dissolved.

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