Liberalism and the Habsburg Monarchy, 1861-1895

Often the liberal movement has been viewed through the lens of its later German nationalism. This presents only one facet of a wide-ranging, all-encompassing project to regenerate the Habsburg Monarchy. By analysing its various nuances, this volume provides a new, more positive interpretation of Austro-German liberalism.

Kwan's book can be recommended as a valuable addition to the literature on the late Habsburg Monarchy, all the more so as it covers a relatively neglected period and theme. (Alan Sked, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 88 (3), September, 2016)

In his engagingly written book, Jonathan Kwan analyses liberalism in Habsburg Austria from 1861, when the parliament was reintroduced and censorship was lifted, through 1895, the final cabinet to include Austro-German liberals collapsed. This book, solidly based on newspaper and numerous other printed primary and secondary materials, with some archival sources, is a useful contribution to Habsburg when historiography. Those looking for a positive interpretation of Austro-German liberalism will have found it in this volume.(Nancy M. Wingfield, European Review of History, Vol. 22 (5), 2015)

Auteur
Jonathan Kwan is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has studied at the Universities of Queensland, London and Oxford. Publications include articles on the 1867 Compromise, the Transylvanian Saxon community and other topics associated with the Habsburg Monarchy and Central Europe in the nineteenth century.

Contenu

1. Introduction: Liberalism, Nationalism and the Austrian State PART I: THE ERA OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL PARTY, 1861-79 2. Articulating the Austro-German Liberal Vision, 1861-65 3. Fighting for the Constitution: Dualism and the Austro-German Liberals, 1865-67 4. Realising the Liberal Project: Liberal Hubris and Insecurity, 1867-79 PART II: THE PARADIGM CHANGE: THE LIBERALS IN OPPOSITION, 1879-85 5. Defending Parliamentary Privilege: Foreign Policy, Liberal Opposition and the Responsibility of State Power 6. A Possible Czech-German Liberal Alliance: The Emmersdorf Discussions, 1878-79 7. 'The End of the Constitutional Party'? New Directions and the New Politics, 1879-85 PART III: DEFENDING DEUTSCHTUM: LIBERALISM AND THE RISE OF NATIONALIST POLITICS 8. Anti-Semitism and Austro-German Liberalism, 1861-95 9. Bohemia, Austria and Radical Politics: A Case Study, 1879-93 10. Ernst von Plener and the Final Liberal Coalition Government, 1893-95 11. Conclusion: Austro-German Liberalism at the Turn-of-the-Century