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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.

US-Iran Escalations, Israel Expands Lebanon Campaign, CIA Feuds With Intelligence Chief / American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

There’s too much Knickerbocker news to fit here, but we do have other stories to report. This week: Iran and the U.S. exchange fire in the Gulf (2:00), plus peace talks stall after Trump adds new demands (4:29); Israel escalates its Lebanon campaign despite ceasefire talks (08:33); Cambodia takes a Thailand maritime dispute to the UN (15:19); in Sudan, tribal clashes kill dozens in South Darfur (17:38); Ukraine strikes St. Petersburg during the city’s International Economic Forum (20:13); Germany loses a UN Security Council vote (21:54); Colombia’s first-round election results see the right gain momentum (24:04); U.S. sanctions hit Cuba-linked hotels (26:36); and Tulsi Gabbard resigns as the DNI faces a CIA feud (29:11). 

Then, Tim Sahay and Kate MacKenzie, co-editors of The Polycrisis, join the show to explain how the climate crisis, Chinese clean-tech, U.S. policy, and the Iran war are accelerating a global shift away from fossil fuels.

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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 an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.


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