Laurence Cole - Böcker

Military Culture and Popular Patriotism in Late Imperial Austria examines the interplay between popular patriotism and military culture in late imperial Austria. Laurence Cole suggests that two main questions should be asked regarding the western half of the Habsburg Monarchy during the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the outbreak of war in 1914. Firstly, how far did imperial Austrian society experience a process of militarization comparable to that of other European countries? Secondly, how far did the military sphere foster popular patriotism in the multinational state?Various manifestations of military culture, including hero cults and, above all, military veterans associations, provide the main subject for analysis in this volume. After exploring the historical development of military culture in the Habsburg Monarchy, Cole explains how the long reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I constituted a decisive phase in the militarization of Austrian society, with the dynasty and state emphasizing the military's role as the locus of loyalty. Popular manifestations of military culture, such as the hero cult surrounding Field Marshal Radetzky and military veterans associations, complemented the official agenda in many respects. However, veterans associations in particular constituted a political mobilization of the lower middle and lower classes, who asserted their own interests and position in civil society, as is shown by case studies of regions of the Austrian state with significant Italian-speaking populations (Trentino and the Littoral). State attempts to assert greater control of veterans activities led to national and political opposition at a time when tensions over 'militarism' and foreign policy increased. Military Culture and Popular Patriotism in Late Imperial Austria thus raises the question of whether the military was really a bulwark of the multinational state or rather a polarizing force in imperial Austrian society.

The essays in this volume analyse issues of national and regional identity during a key phase of nation-state formation in mid-nineteenth century Europe. By asking how contemporaries articulated regional and national identities, the book offers a fresh prospective on the process of nationalization in modern German, Austrian and Italian histories.

The essays in this volume analyse issues of national and regional identity during a key phase of nation-state formation in mid-nineteenth century Europe. By asking how contemporaries articulated regional and national identities, the book offers a fresh prospective on the process of nationalization in modern German, Austrian and Italian histories.

Recent research has revised earlier views about the role of veterans of World War One in paramilitary formations, radical nationalism and political extremism in inter-war Europe, yet there remain considerable gaps in our understanding of the role they played in the ‘successor states’ of the Habsburg Empire. Vanquished and Victorious provides an innovative comparative investigation of veterans in Austria and Czechoslovakia, two states whose wider political development was of crucial importance to the question of stability in Central Europe after 1918. While differing in terms of how successfully veterans reintegrated into post-war society, this volume shows that both countries incorporated elements of ‘cultures of victory and defeat’.

The overwhelming majority of historical work on the late Habsburg Monarchy has focused primarily on national movements and ethnic conflicts, with the result that too little attention has been devoted to the state and ruling dynasty. This volume is the first of its kind to concentrate on attempts by the imperial government to generate a dynastic-oriented state patriotism in the multinational Habsburg Monarchy. It examines those forces in state and society which tended toward the promotion of state unity and loyalty towards the ruling house. These essays, all original contributions and written by an international group of historians, provide a critical examination of the phenomenon of “dynastic patriotism” and offer a richly nuanced treatment of the multinational empire in its final phase.

"There is a welcome intellectual coherence and high scholarship to this latest volume in Berghahn's series on Austrian and Habsburg Studies." -German History "This volume is a splendid addition to the invaluable Austrian and Habsburg Studies series. Each of its contributors has approached his or her subject in a novel way, and the result is a collection that obliges the reader to look at things with a fresh eye." -N-Net Reviews "...a splendid volume...The essays in this volume offer scholars several fine theoreticl alternatives for pursuing new narratives about Austro-Hungarian society." -Central European History "The book succeeds by exploring the ways in which dynastic patriotism really operated...[It] offers a highly important contribution to scholarship. Advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and scholars studying Habsburg and central and east Europeanhistory, identity formation, as well as monarchy as a political institution will greatly benefit from and need to read this book." -Slavic Review "As with earlier volumes in this series, these essays are well-written and based on original research.There are extensive notes following each essay and a general index for the whole volume. Several topics are somewhat extraneous to the overall theme but readers will find them all of interest." -German Studies Review The overwhelming majority of historical work on the late Habsburg Monarchy has focused primarily on national movements and ethnic conflicts, with the result that too little attention has been devoted to the state and ruling dynasty. This volume is the first of its kind to concentrate on attempts by the imperial government to generate a dynastic-oriented state patriotism in the multinational Habsburg Monarchy. It examines those forces in state and society which tended toward the promotion of state unity and loyalty towards the ruling house. These essays, all original contributions and written by an international group of historians, provide a critical examination of the phenomenon of "dynastic patriotism" and offer a richly nuanced treatment of the multinational empire in its final phase. Laurence Cole is Lecturer in Modern European History at the University of East Anglia.He is the author of Fur Gott, Kaiser und Vaterland: Nationale Identitat der deutschsprachigen Bevolkerung Tirols 1860-1914 (2000), and has recently edited Different Paths to the Nation: National and Regional Identities in Central Europe and Italy, 1830-1870 (2007). He is also co-editor of European History Quarterly. Daniel Unowsky received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is Associate Professor of History at the University of Memphis. He is the author of The Pomp and Politics of Patriotism: Imperial Celebrations in Habsburg Austria, 1848-1916 (2005), and currently serves as book review editor for the Austrian History Yearbook.