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The Habsburg Empire and the Modern State

On this episode of American Prestige, Natasha Wheatley on the transformation of the Habsburg Empire from a multinational collection of polities to discrete nation-states.

Derek Davison and Daniel Bessner

July 22, 2024

The coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth of Austria as King and Queen of Hungary, on June 8, 1867, in Buda, the capital of Hungary. (Edmund Tull / Wikimedia Commons)

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The Habsburg Empire and the Modern State w/ Natasha Wheatley | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

On this episode of American Prestige, Natasha Wheatley, assistant professor of history at Princeton, sits down with our hosts, Danny and Derek, to talk about the transformation of the Habsburg Empire from a multinational collection of polities to discrete nation-states and how this century of radical change informs our ideas of sovereignty and the subsequent international order. The discussion explores the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, how the Empire navigated emerging nationalisms in the late 19th century compared with the Ottoman Empire, problems of post-Habsburg states after WWI and how they helped engender WWII, and more.

Grab a copy of Natasha’s book The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty.

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On this episode of American Prestige, Natasha Wheatley, assistant professor of history at Princeton, sits down with us to talk about the transformation of the Habsburg Empire from a multinational collection of polities to discrete nation-states and how this century of radical change informs our ideas of sovereignty and the subsequent international order.

The discussion explores the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, how the empire navigated emerging nationalisms in the late 19th century compared with the Ottoman Empire, problems of post-Habsburg states after WWI and how they helped engender WWII, and more.

Grab a copy of Natasha’s book The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty.

The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Canada-US Trade War Escalates, Houthis Seize Yemeni Port, Report Says Netanyahu Ignored 10/7 Warnings / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

I, for one, welcome our new AI overlords. In this week’s news: the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service confirms last month was tied for the hottest ever recorded (0:52); the Houthis/Ansar Allah take the port city of Mokha (1:45); the U.S. and Iran exchange ship attacks as oil prices rise (5:25); the IAEA refers Iran to the United Nations (7:32); Trump predicts an end to the Iran war immediately after the midterms (8:59); 12 countries ban products made in Israeli settlements (10:52); a new report alleges that Netanyahu ignored October 7 warnings and a chance to recover hostages (13:49); the IDF takes a strategic ridge in Lebanon, then escalates strikes (18:30); an arbitration court rules against India on the Indus Waters Treaty (20:49); new claims of famine emerge in Sudan’s Darfur region (23:05); the Nigerian government and Boko Haram maintain a ceasefire (24:59); the Trump administration phases out U.S. support for anti-AIDS programs in Namibia (27:21); American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visit Russia and Ukraine (29:22); Ukraine tries to close Russian airspace (31:20); and in a trade war update, Canadian tariffs on U.S. goods take effect (32:50).         

Don't forget Derek's Substack, Foreign Exchanges.

Enjoy Danny's new Substack, Imperialist Realism.

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Derek DavisonDerek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.


Daniel BessnerTwitterDaniel Bessner is a historian of US foreign relations and is the author of, among other books, Imperialist Realism.


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