The Nationality and State Question of the Hungarian Kingdom in the Habsburg Monarchy ; the Danube Federation Idea as Reorganization of East-Central Europe

Abstract

This article examines the nationality and state question in Hungarian kingdom in the time of the late Habsburg monarchy, the First World War and the Hungarian Democratic Revolution, which broke out in October 1918. It addresses the specific position of the Hungarians in the Habsburg monarchy and East-Central Europe. The Hungarians were "middle-positioned" nationality, that is, a ruled nationality under the monarchy and the ruling nationality over the minorities in the Hungarian kingdom at the same time. This position made the character of the Hungarian nationalism obscure. In the revolution of 1848, their national freedom meant not only thier own freedom or independence, but the oppression of the other nationalities in Hungary. In this situation Hungarian people sought their raison d'etre in strengthening their political, military and economic power among Central European countries. In this process of industrial and political development, oppressing the other nationalities, the idea of "unity of the Hungarian state" penetrated the mind of all the classes of Hungarians, even the bourgeois democrats and the socialists. This article examines the significance and the limitation of the idea of the "Danube Federation" from Kossuth Lajos to Jaszi Oszkar under the "unity of the Hungarian state". It shows the difficult problems, which emerged when Hungarians attempted to realize the idea of the "Danube Federation" especially when the oppressed nationalities in Hungary and the entente powers were against them. In consequence of it, they couldn't establish a democratic multi-national state in the former Habsburg monarchy after the war, because of the claim of the oppressed nationalities to the self-determination and independence, and the interference of the entente, which desired the changing and reorganizing of balance of power in Europe since the Russian Revolutions. After that the "successor states" were born. But the small countries couldn't realize the real "self-determination" and the establishment of "national states", because of historical nation-mixed area. Contrariwise they were reorganized in the "Versaillais system", and afterward in fascism during the interwar period.