Securing Own Position: Challenges Faced by Local Elites after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise

Abstract

The multi-ethnic regions of the Habsburg Monarchy became increasingly perceived as places of instability and insecurity after the rise of competing national movements in the mid-nineteenth century. The antagonism between local national elites culminated after the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, as all pursued a course aimed at securing a favourable position. As actors of security, the local elites often and typically declared themselves and their respective nations to be existentially threatened and therefore with a legitimate claim to survive the challenges brought on by modern times. To investigate the security dilemmas of the local elites in two different regions of Austria-Hungary – namely in three city municipalities in Bács-Bodrog county in Southern Hungary; and in Vas, Sopron and Moson counties in western Hungary – this study combines methods of historical discourse analysis with approaches taken from security and nationalism studies as well as regional and local history.