European Commission of the Danube, 1856-1948

Constantin Ardeleanu, Ph.D. (2006), ‘Nicolae Iorga’ Institute of History, Bucharest, is Professor of Modern History at the ‘Lower Danube’ University (Galaţi). In previous years he was a Research Fellow at Utrecht University and New Europe College (Bucharest).

"Constantin Ardeleanu goes beyond the study of the Danube to offer a complementary perspective on international cooperations, as studied today in history, political science and in the social sciences generally […] This work prompts reflection on our present-day debates and controversies around the construction of a European community’."Emmanuel Bioteau, in Francia-Recensio, 4 (2021) “The story of the European Commission of the Danube, set up at the end of the Crimean War to reopen the mouths of one of Europe’s longest rivers for maritime commerce, proves an absorbing one in the hands of Constantin Ardeleanu […] the author makes a convincing case for regarding the ECD as ‘a Europe in miniature’, a sort of poster-child for international cooperation and regulation. The book is clearly and engagingly written, largely free from technocratic jargon.” Ian D. Armour, in Slavonic and East European Review

• AcknowledgmentsList of Illustrations and TablesIntroduction1 An ‘Experiment in International Administration’2 Expert Mobilisation and the Study of International Rivers3 The Commission and Europe’s Nascent Security Cooperation4 On Institutional Visibility, Corporate Branding and Expert Exposure5 A Brief Historiographical Survey of the Commission6 Outline of the Book1 Russophobia, Free Trade and Maritime Insecurity1 Urquhart, Russophobia and Danube Navigation2 Grain and Steamship3 Danubian Hindrances4 Banditry and Corruption in Russian Sulina5 ‘Mistrust’, ‘Remonstrances’, ‘Vexations’6 The Apogee of Russian ‘Neglect’ and the Conspiracy to Close Off the Danube7 Conclusions2 The Danube Question and the Making of Two River Commissions1 A German View on the Freedom of the Danube2 The Danube Question3 Crimean War Diplomacy and the Internationalisation of the Danube4 Austria’s Struggle for ‘Special and Exclusive Advantages’5 The Right of Non-Riparian Countries to Regulate Danube Navigation6 Removing Russia from the Maritime Danube – Territorial Cessions, Imperial Honour and Revisionism7 The Riverain Commission and the Making of the 1857 Navigation Act8 A Juridical Conflict between 1815 and 18569 Riparians vs. Non-Riparians at the 1858 Paris Ambassadorial Conference10 Conclusions3 A Quest for Authority and Autonomy1 On Dual Institutional Hosting2 On Appointing Commissioners and the Role of Expertise3 Early Decision-Making Mechanisms4 Diverging Views on the Binding Force of the Commission’s Regulations5 Migration and Human Insecurity in a Russian-Ottoman Borderland6 The Fishermen of Vylkove, Border Disputes and the Commission as a Conflict Mediator7 A Tansnational ‘Constitution’ – the 1865 Public Act8 On the Commission’s Exceptional Character9 Conclusions4 ‘Civilising and Disciplining Nature’1 ‘The Father of the Danube’2 Post-Crimean War Transnational River Expertise3 Logistical Challenges in the Periphery4 Techno-Political Power Play5 A European Hydraulic Triumph6 Celebrating a European Monument of Civilisation7 Hartley’s Professional Prestige8 Exhibiting Transnational Hydraulic Success9 Deepening the Sulina Bar10 Mobile Property and Memory Politics11 Environmental Challenges in the Danube Delta Area12 ‘Civilising and Disciplining’ the River13 Protecting Hydraulic Works in Times of War14 Techno-Political Intrusions in the ‘Organic Machine’15 Conclusions5 On Money, Tolls and Standards1 A Tour for Collecting Multilateral Financial Guarantees2 The Sublime Porte’s Financial Advances3 Perspectives on Financial (In)Security4 The Making of the Navigation Tariff5 Standardising the European Tonnage Measurement6 An International Organisation on the Capital Market7 Political Turmoil and a Test on the International Bond Market8 Towards Collective Financial Security9 Complete Financial Independence10 Conclusions6 Threats, Opportunities and Institutional Survival1 An Hydraulic Expert2 Canal vs. Railway vs. River3 An International Organisation and a National Seaport4 In Defence of Organisational Reputation5 Narratives of Institutional Success6 Opening Up River Tributaries and the Establishment of a Sibling International Organisation7 The London Conference (1871) and the Prolongation of the Commission8 Gordon’s Disinterest in the Commission9 Stokes’ Epistemic Communities10 Conclusions7 On Transnational Bureaucrats and Rulemaking1 An Early International Civil Service2 The Internal Administration of the Commission3 In Search of Juridical Powers4 The Modern Organisation of Pilotage5 Regulating Lighterage Operations6 Pensions for International Civil Servants7 Categories of Staff and Their Immunities8 Appointment and Promotion Procedures9 Administrative Works In Favour of Navigational Safety10 A Statistical Perspective on Shipping Security11 Conclusions8 The Lower Danube and Romanian Nation-Making1 An Invitation to Transnational Expert Cooperation2 ‘A Gift of the Danube’ – Thinking Romania’s Geopolitical Relevance3 Southern Bessarabia and the Securitisation of the Maritime Danube4 Europe’s Concert and the Danube Question5 The Berlin Congress as a Security Management Institution6 ‘In Complete Independence of Territorial Authority’7 ‘The Freedom of the Danube Is a Key Condition for the Political and Economic Development of Riparian States’8 The Fluvial Danube – between Austrian Hydro-Imperialism and European Multilateralism9 The 1883 London Danubian Conference – a Story of Inclusion/Exclusion10 International Law and the Danube Question11 Conclusions9 Europolis – from a Piratical Republic to a Collective Colony1 Europolis – from Literary to Scholarly Interest2 Imperial Security-Making and a ‘Piratical Republic under Austrian Protection’3 Law and Order in Early Ottoman Sulina4 On the Beginnings of Peacekeeping Corps – European Warships at Sulina5 From Shipping Security to the Making of a Free-Trade Zone6 Steaming to Profit – Commercial Opportunities at the Lower Danube in the Post-Crimean War Context7 On Schleps and Tariffs8 From Transnational Brigands to European Bureaucrats9 Urban Transformations – Geological Cosmopolitanism and Modern Public Services10 Cholera, Malaria, Typhoid Fever – on the Danube Delta’s Silent Threats11 Cosmopolitan Headstones and Their Stories of Insecurity12 Conclusions10 Between Experimentalism and Anachronism – the Road to the Abolishment of the European Commission of the Danube1 The Limits of Neutrality – the Commission during the First World War2 Internationalism and Exceptionalism – the Danube Regime at the Paris Peace Congress3 ‘The Most Unbelievable Anachronism’ – Revisionism along the Lower Danube4 Between the Nazis and the Soviets – the Commission in the Second World War5 ‘The Door Was Open to Come In; the Same Door Is Open to Go Out’ – the Danube under Soviet Hegemony6 The Danube Commission – Inclusion and ExclusionConclusionsBibliographyIndex