An evaluation of Austrian influence in Persia using diplomatic correspondence of the Austrian embassy in Teheran and further primary sources. The thesis is focusing on the Austro-Hungarian military...Show moreAn evaluation of Austrian influence in Persia using diplomatic correspondence of the Austrian embassy in Teheran and further primary sources. The thesis is focusing on the Austro-Hungarian military mission in Persia, the Austro-Persian connections regarding the Great Game and the influence of Austrian individuals in Persia. The paper tries to categorise, understand an reevaluate the Austrian presence in Persia regarding new perspectives on (Austrian) colonialism.Show less
During the WWI, tens of thousands Austro-Italian soldiers from rural areas of Trentine had been called to the arms and thrown into the Galician battlefields. Many of them were captured by Russians...Show moreDuring the WWI, tens of thousands Austro-Italian soldiers from rural areas of Trentine had been called to the arms and thrown into the Galician battlefields. Many of them were captured by Russians and, during their captivity, were asked to chose between Austro-Hungarian and Italian citizenship. Through the analysis of their diaries and memorials, this research aims to uncover the social processes underlying the construction of a new national identity.Show less
Ever since Oscar Jászi’s thesis on opposing centripetal versus centrifugal forces within the Austro-Hungarian empire, historians have perceived developments within the Dual Monarchy through a...Show moreEver since Oscar Jászi’s thesis on opposing centripetal versus centrifugal forces within the Austro-Hungarian empire, historians have perceived developments within the Dual Monarchy through a dichotomous lens without questioning this assumed mutual exclusivity. This has led to singular interpretations of imperial loyalty, Kaisertreue, as a purely centripetal, read imperial, force. While new studies have shown that the opposition between nationalism and imperial identity is much more complex and that in some cases they could be compatible and even mutually supportive, this has not led to a new interpretation of Kaisertreue. Through an analysis of the promotion of Kaisertreue during two imperial visits to Galicia in 1880 and 1894, this thesis argues that the ruling Polish conservatives nationalised dynastic loyalty in order to support their nationalist visions and policies for Galicia, while at the same time the Habsburg Court continued to promote an anational Kaisertreue based on the equality of all nations, languages, and cultures. This reinterpretation helps historians to better understand the complexities of imperial-nationalist dynamics and therefore offer better explanations of developments within Austria-Hungary.Show less
