Modern Austria: Empire and Republic, 1815-1986

by Barbara Jelavich

Beginning with the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and extending to the elections in November of 1986, this history of modern Austria has been written for the general reader and the student wishing an overview of the country's recent history. The first part of the book, covering the years from 1815 to 1918, includes a discussion of the events in Habsburg history that have a particular significance for the evolution of the later republic. Particular attention is paid to the unique aspects of the Austrian governmental system. The book concludes with an examination of the Kreisky era, the evolution of Austrian social democracy, and the political controversies after 1983.The main emphasis in the book is on political history and foreign policy, but attention is paid to the cultural history of Austria, focusing particularly on Vienna, throughout the nineteenth and twenieth centuries.

Genres: History

368 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 1987

About the author

Barbara Jelavich was a professor of history at Indiana University and an expert on the diplomatic histories of the Russian and Habsburg monarchies, the diplomacy of the Ottoman Empire, and the history of the Balkans.

Reviews

[Dave Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern Austria: Empire & Republic, 1815-1986 is a monograph that focuses on the political history and foreign policy of Austria. The book synthesizes elements of economic and social history to further support the author’s main arguments. Cultural history is briefly glossed over in the book with special attention given to the achievements of Viennese. Barbara Jelavich, the author and Professor of History at Indiana University, argues in the first part of her book that the strong Austrian German position within the Habsburg Empire was weakened by rising nationalism of minority groups and the unification of Germany. Jelavich claims in the second half of her book that initially after the collapse of the Empire the spirit of “Austrianism” did not exist in the new Austrian Republic. In addition, she maintains that Austria was treated too harshly after WWI, which created more instability in the shaky Republic. She contrasts this to the success of Austria after WWII.

Jelavich contends in the first half of her book that the dominant position of the Austrian Germans erodes within the Habsburg Empire during the later half of the 19th century due to a mixture of domestic and foreign misfortunes that perpetuated until the Empire fell. The author argues that rising nationalism of minority groups like the Hungarians, Czechs, and Poles forced the compromise of the superior German position, which helped lead toward the end of the Habsburg reign. The minority groups were better able to achieve a national movement than the Germans, and as a result they were finally able to use their superior numbers to place internal pressure on the Empire and the German claim to dominance. Jelavich uses the Revolutions of 1848 to exemplify the growing power and boldness of the minority groups toward nationalism. The author maintains that the emergence of the Prussians as the new great German Power also troubled the Austrian German position within the Empire because it placed further pressure on the Austrian Germans to make deals with peoples like the Hungarians and Czechs, which weakened their power. Jelavich points out the internal struggle between the different factions of Germans within the Empire, which often complicated the preservation of German position within the Empire.

Jelavich treats the evolution of the Austrian Republic from the fall of the Empire until the controversy of 1986. She makes her strongest points when comparing the failure and success of the Republic after WWI and WWII. She also discusses the condition and nature of Austrian neutrality.

Modern Austria: Empire & Republic, 1815-1986's strongest dimension is that it is well written and logically organized. Jelavich is able to take the complicated issues that surround the history of modern Austria and present them in a survey format that is easily read by any modestly educated mind. She makes good use of maps and pictures in order to further validate her explanations and arguments.

Jelavich exemplifies her dedication to clarity by avoiding cumbersome footnotes, as well as awkward diction and syntax; instead, she uses maps in many cases to explain a concept. For example, she uses a map to explain the vastness and complexity of the Hapsburg Empire at the abdication of Charles V verses other methods. A lengthy footnote would have been terribly confusing and addition text in the main body would be distracting, but her map clearly and concisely conveys the information without skipping any details.

The pictures in Modern Austria: Empire & Republic, 1815-1986 reinforce the information Jelavich tries to explain in her book, especially in her brief treatment of culture. She realized that placing pictures in the text was vital to the clear understanding of art, architecture, and other ideas that are better expressed visually. The pictures of the Vienna Opera, Parliament Building, and the various pieces of art in chapter two really demonstrate how pictures complemented the ideas she was discussing.

Modern Austria: Empire & Republic, 1815-1986 is easily read, but the thoroughness of the book was sacrificed in part due to Jelavich’s desire to make the book clearly understood. This weakness is obvious in her notes and in her use of sources. She neglects to include many footnotes about her complex subject, which exhibits an over simplified treatment of an extremely complicated multi-echleon history. Jelavich neglects adequate primary sources with in her book, which is evident in the bibliography. She includes limited perspectives as a result and fails to present a fresh presentation of a thoroughly researched subject.

Jelavich tends to present her book from an ideologically liberal standpoint, which is expressed in her generous admiration of present day Austria. Jelavich offers an extremely ameliorative description of modern Austria in her closing without mentioning any of their difficulties or challenges. This is succinctly illustrated in a closing quotation she used which stated that Austria was “a small house in order.” She makes no mention of the issues Austria is having with their neutrality, immigration, or social welfare.

Modern Austria: Empire & Republic, 1815-1986 is well written and easily read book that offers a good survey level understanding of Austrian political history and foreign policy. However, as a result of this simplicity thoroughness is neglected. Jelavich includes a slight bias in her book that distorts the reality of some of the topics she covered like the position of Austrian Germans in the Empire and modern Austria. Overall the book is a good attempt at briefly surveying the complicated history of Austria.

[Scott Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise and interesting, but perhaps only to someone living in or especially curious about Austria.

[Stephen Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent, high-level narrative of modern Austrian history. It's handicapped by having been written in 1987. A decade later would have allowed access to East European sources and changed matters.