Zoltán Bécsi

Forbidden Federalism: Secret Diplomacy and the Struggle for a Danube Confederation (eBook, ePUB)

1918-1921

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

The key concept of this title is that of federalism, understood as a unifying factor for the peoples of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the First World War, even those resolutely in favor of dismantling Austria-Hungary recognized that the Danubian area required some sort of federal unity, if only for economic reasons. One of the main actors of the narrative is Karl of Habsburg-Lorraine, the last Emperor-King of Austria-Hungary. As soon as Austria-Hungary fell apart, Karl started actively to try to reconstruct his empire by writing a plan for a new con/federal monarchy and by contacting the pope and the leaders of the Entente regarding this plan.

Bécsi's book is a study in virtual history, what might have been, and reading it one is tempted to follow this line of thought as well. The shadowy figures that cross its pages-the Marquis de Castellone who sought to win over the Foreign Office to Karl's plans, the better-known Stepan Radic who played with federal schemes in an effort to advance the Croatian cause, or the obscure swindler Karol Bulissa-all failed in their attempts. The present configuration in Central Europe, with the emergence of the Visegrad bloc and disintegration in

the Balkans, seems to make Zoltán Bécsi's work more relevant than ever.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Helena History Press LLC
• Seitenzahl: 314
• Erscheinungstermin: 26. November 2020
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781943596201
• Artikelnr.: 60690984

Autorenporträt

historian and political scientist, educated at Geneva and Oxford Universities and the Graduate Institute of International Studies of Geneva. He was the recipient of a Swiss National Fund Scholarship for doctoral research. His field of specialisation is Central and South Eastern Europe, and European Affairs in general, dealing mostly with the study of federal structures, sovereignty and nationalities. His recent interests are the origins and methodology of future studies from a geopolitical (realist) and historical perspective, as well as the faith of elites under Communism in Europe. He has published in three different languages on these and other subjects. He is an independent consultant and advisory board member of international think tanks. He has been a Senior Research Fellow of the former European Institute of the University of Geneva founded by Denis de Rougemont, initiator and international coordinator of the ISFD (Institute of Studies in Decentralisation and Federalism) project with the University of Geneva and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, invited as lecturer at several European universities such as: Sciences Po-Paris, ISES-Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in Koszeg, and the University of Pécs both in Hungary. Bécsi teaches History of international relations and European political thought.