A soknemzetiségű birodalmaktól a multietnikus nemzetállamokig. Kelet-közép-európai nemzet- és államépítő nacionalizmusok az I. világháború éveiben
From Multi-national Empires to Multi-ethnic Nation States: State-Building Nationalism in East-Central European Countries during the First World War

Summary/Abstract: In the international historiography of the Great War there is a striking dichotomy between the interpretations of the history of memory in the Western and Eastern European countries. Starting from this situation of dualism the present study’s intention is to scrutinise the ideological profi le and political, respectively territorial aspirations of nationalisms in the dynastic empires between 1914 and 1918. Each multi-national dynastic monarchy among the belligerent Great Powers tried to pacify the small-national aspirations within the borders, at the same time each made eff orts to utilizing the separatists and independent movements in the home land of the enemy. On the basis of the international and Hungarian historical literature this work looks into the process how the idea of independent state-building among the non-dominant nationalities emerged and gained ground. In this work the national aspirations of Austria–Hungary are analysed with special focus on the national aspirations in the territory of the Hungarian Kingdom. According to the main conclusion of this evaluation the radicalisation of the Romanian, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian and Ruthen nationalisms could not have been managed and handled successfully by the Hungarian government because of its quick internationalisation, and having become a useful weapon in the war ’arsenal’ of Great Powers. Neither the Wilson-principle of self-determination did prove adequate or suffi cient to solve the national confl icts in Austria–Hungary during the Great War.

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