The First World War and the Fall of the Habsburg Empire

FAIN: RZ-279828-21

University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-4635)
John David Deak (Project Director: December 2020 to present)
Jonathan Edward Gumz (Co Project Director: February 2021 to present)

Preparation for print publication of a co-authored monograph on the collapse of the Habsburg Empire in the First World War (1914-1918). (36 months)

We are applying for an NEH manuscript preparation grant in order to complete the research and writing of a co-authored book manuscript and two research articles on the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire in the First World War. Our work will consist of new archival research that focuses on the internal dynamics of the Habsburg State after war is declared and emergency law goes into effect. The project will build on recent trends in Habsburg studies which have brought to light the empire's political vibrancy and adaptability, in place of longstanding traditional narratives of its inevitable decline and fall. As such we hope to offer a critical new explanation for how the Habsburg Empire collapsed during the First World War and, more importantly, show how the story of the Habsburg Empire as a state collapse helps us to understand the political extremism and the fall of the rule of law during the twentieth century in Europe and the world.