A new and revised edition of Alan Sked’s groundbreaking book which examines how the Habsburg Empire survived the revolutionary turmoil of 1848.
‘The Year of Revolutions', saw the whole of Europe convulsed in turmoil and revolt. Yet the Habsburg Empire survived. As state after state succumbed to the violent winds of change that were sweeping the continent. How did the Habsburg Empire survive? How was the army able hold together while the rest of the empire collapsed in civil war, and how was it able to seize the political initiative In this new edition, Alan Sked reflects on the changed understanding of the period which resulted from the first appearance of this book, and widens the discussion to look at the Habsburg Empire alongside the decline of the Russian and German Empires, arguing that it is possible to understand their decline from a broad European perspective, as opposed to the overly narrow focus of recent explanations. Alan Sked makes us look at familiar events with new eyes in this radical, vigorously written classic which is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of nineteenth-century Europe.
Author(s): Alan Sked
Edition: 2
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2013
Language: English
Pages: x+354
The Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire 1815‒1918, 2nd Edition
Table of Contents
List of Maps
Acknowledgement
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
Notes and References
1 Metternich and his System, 1815‒48
Metternich and his critics
Metternich and his defenders
Metternich and domestic policy
Metternich: a verdict
Notes and References
2 1848: the Causes
The secret societies
A police state?
The liberal opposition
A revolt of the nobility?
Economic growth in Metternich's Austria
The economic and social background to 1848
The fall of Metternich and the outbreak of revolution
Notes and References
3 The Failure of the Revolutions of 1848
The pattern of revolution
The Revolution in Hungary
The Revolution in Lombardy-Venetia
Disobedience and the Camarilla
Notes and References
4 From the Counter-Revolution to the Compromise
Schwarzenberg
Schwarzenberg and domestic policy
Schwarzenberg's German policy
The economic consequences of 1848
Buol and Habsburg foreign policy
Rechberg, Mensdorff and the road to Sadowa
Notes and References
5 The Dual Monarchy
The Compromise of 1867
The economics of Dualism
A backward Hungary?
The nationality problem in Hungary
The nationality problem in Cisleithania
Notes and References
6 The Road to Disaster
Domestic aspects of Habsburg foreign policy
The occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Austria-Hungary as a factor for peace or war in Europe
Austria-Hungary and the First World War
Conclusions
Notes and References
7 Reflections on the Decline and Fall of the Habsburg Empire
Metternich's Austria as a Josephinist state
The Catholic Church in Austria during the Metternich era
Francis I and the rule of law
The Habsburg welfare state
The European empires
Political repression in the European empires
Economic growth and social welfare
Intellectual vitality
Conclusion
Notes and References
Appendix
1 Chronology of Events
2 Habsburg Foreign Ministers, 1809-1918
3 Population and Nationalities in the Empire, 1843-1910
Maps
Index
