Political history of Habsburg Monarchy in 19. and 20. century

The main aim of the course is to introduce students to the political history of the Habsburg Empire in the period between the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Spatially, the course will cover two sections:
- Domestic political developments
- External political developments
The focus is on the positioning of the Austrian Empire or Austria-Hungary in international political and diplomatic currents, the relations between the different ethnic groups within the country, and the central features of the political system, which was very specific.
The aim of the lectures is to give students an insight into the main features that defined the Central European space in the 19th and early 20th centuries - nationalism, relations between ethnic groups, the beginnings of democratisation, the establishment of different ideological blocs, international diplomacy.
The aim of the seminar is to learn about the main literature covering the themes of the course and to get acquainted with sources from the period (newspapers, memoirs, archival documents). These will be used in practical work or in the preparation of seminar assignments.
They will acquire competences that will help them to better understand, among other things, ethnic relations, nationalism, political change, democratisation processes and inter-state relations, which are the foundations of today's modern society.

The subject is related to the courses Cultural History of Slovenian territory, World Wars of 20th century, Culture of regions and of border areas.

The course comprises of two thematic sections:

The first will focus on the internal political developments in the Habsburg state between 1815 and 1914, focusing on the role of the emperor in the state, political systems, the development of ideological blocs, parliamentarism, the gradual democratisation of society, the role of individual national groups in the political process and the impact
of nationalism on socio-political developments. One lecture will be devoted to the presentation of the Slovene territory, with an emphasis on the region of Gorizia and Gradisca, in the context of the dynamics, processes and changes that defined the Monarchy in the period under discussion (political and ethnic relations between the Slovene, Italian and German ethnic communities).

The second section will focus on foreign policy and the role of the Habsburg state. The focus will be on the political role of the Habsburg Empire in three contexts - the concert of European powers, Central Europe and South-Eastern Europe. The focus will be on relations with neighbouring countries, especially Prussia and later Germany, Italy, Russia and the countries of the Balkans.

Domestic political developments in the Habsburg Monarchy:
- Metternich's absolutism - the political system between the Congress of Vienna and the Spring of Nations
- Spring of Nations 1848 and nationalism
- Bach's neoabsolutism
- Dualist settlement with Hungary in 1867
- Constitutional life and parliamentarism in Cislaitania

External political developments in the Habsburg monarchy
- The role of the Habsburg Monarchy in the concert of the Great Powers after 1815
- The Habsburg role in the German and Italian spheres
- The wars with Italy in 1859 and 1866 and with Prussia in 1866
- The alliance system and international relations (The Dual and the Triple Alliance)
- The role of the state in the Balkans from the 1870s onwards, the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 and the Austro-Hungarian actions during the Balkan Wars of 1912/13

Students will be able to understand, articulate and interpret the historical developments of the Central European region in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They will be familiarised with a wide range of literature and different sources, which they will be able to analyse and critically evaluate.

Basic:

• Bled, J.: Franc Jožef. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1990. Catalogue
• Bridge, F. R.: The Habsburg Monarchy among the Great Powers 1815–1918. Oxford: Berg, 1990. E-version
• Cvirn, J.: Dunajski državni zbor in Slovenci: (1848–1918). Celje: Zgodovinsko društvo; Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2015. E-version
• Judson, P. M.: Habsburški imperij: nova zgodovina. Ljubljana: Sophia, 2018.

Additional:

• Antoličič, G. (ur.): Franc Jožef. Ljubljana: Cankarjeva založba, 2017.
• Bridge, F. R.: From Sadowa to Sarajevo: The Foreign Policy of Austria-Hungary, 1866–1914. London; Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972. E-version
• Fisher, J. (ur.): Slovenska novejša zgodovina: od programa Zedinjena Slovenija do mednarodnega priznanja Republike Slovenije: 1848–1992, 1. del. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga; Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino, 2005. Catalogue
• Grdina, I.: Slovenci med tradicijo in perspektivo. Politični mozaik 1860–1918. Ljubljana: Študentska založba, 2003.
• Judson, P. M.: Guardians of the Nation: Activists on the Language Frontiers of Imperial Austria. Cambridge (Mass.); London (England): Harvard University Press, 2006.
• Judson, P. M.; Rozenblit, M. L. (ur.): Constructing Nationalities in East Central Europe. New York: Berghahn Books, 2004.
• Vodopivec, P.: Od Pohlinove slovnice do samostojne države: slovenska zgodovina od konca 18. stoletja do konca 20. stoletja. Ljubljana: Modrijan, 2006. Catalogue
• Wingfield, N. M. (ur.): Creating the Other: Ethnic Conflict and Nationalism in Habsburg Central Europe. New York; Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2004.
• Zwitter, F.: Nacionalni problemi v Habsburški monarhiji. Ljubljana: Slovenska matica, 1962. Catalogue

Seminar paper and oral exam.
30% / 70%

Robert Devetak completed his PhD studies in 2019 at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Between 2014 and 2018 he was employed as a young researcher at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. From October 2021 on, he works at the Institute for Ethnic Studies in Ljubljana, where his primary research focus is on the Slovenian minority in Italy from the 19th century to the present day. The range of topics covered in his work is broad and includes, among others, women's history, the economic, social, political and local history of the western Slovene area, World War I, nationalism, ethnic relations between Slovene and Italian ethnic communities in the past, modernisation at the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, and migration studies (Alexandrianism, refugeeism). Since 2019, he has been working in parallel at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Nova Gorica.
He has published the results of his research in several original scientific and scholarly articles and monographs, and presented them in numerous radio interviews, symposia, roundtables and exhibitions.

Objave/References:
- DEVETAK, Robert. Razvoj slovenske prisotnosti v goriškem javnem prostoru pred prvo svetovno vojno. Zgodovinski časopis : glasilo Zveze zgodovinskih društev Slovenije. 2023, letn. 77, št. 3/4, str. 380-404,
- DEVETAK, Robert. Boj za slovenske šole in delovanje ženskih podružnic Družbe svetega Cirila in Metoda na Goriškem in Gradiškem v obdobju pred prvo svetovno vojno. Zgodovinski časopis : glasilo Zveze zgodovinskih društev Slovenije. 2020, letn. 74, št. 3/4, str. 360-387
- DEVETAK, Robert. Vzpostavljanje slovenske narodne identitete na primeru trga Kanal v 60. in 70. letih 19. stoletja. V: KOČEVAR, Vanja (ur.), Kolektivne identitete skozi prizmo zgodovine dolgega trajanja : slovenski pogledi. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, 2022. Str. 491-515
- DEVETAK, Robert. Slovenska dobrodelna akcija za bosansko-hercegovske begunce na Goriškem in Gradiškem leta 1875. V: AJLEC, Kornelija (ur.), BALKOVEC, Bojan (ur.), REPE, Božo (ur.). Nečakov zbornik : procesi, teme in dogodki iz 19. in 20. stoletja. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete, 2018. Str. 691-714
- DEVETAK, Robert. Društveno življenje na Kanalskem v času Avstro-Ogrske. Nova Gorica: Goriški muzej Kromberk, 2016.
- DEVETAK, Robert. Kobencli v slovenskem časopisju druge polovice 19. stoletja. V: VIDIC, Federico, STASI, Alessio. I Cobenzl : una famiglia europea tra politica, arte e diplomazia (1508-1823). Roma: Lithos; Gorizia: Archivio di Stato di Gorizia, 2022. Zv. 2, str. 1171-1185.