Western, Southern, Eastern Slavs
The Magyars
Diffuse and “invited” populations
HIST 4/576: LECTURE OUTLINES
1. LANDSCAPE AND PEOPLES
I.
The Problem of Definition
Geography or politics?
The “Other” Europe?
Cold War perceptions
II.
Some Distinctive East European Features
Religious diversity
“Backwardness”
Multiethnicity
The lands between
Absolutism
Historical memory
VII.
First States
Bulgaria, Moravia, Poland, Hungary
Balkan kingdoms
Wallachia and Moldavia
2. SUBJUGATION BY FOREIGN POWERS
I.
Introduction
Eastern Europe: rural, hierarchical, monarchical
Characteristics of serfdom
II.
Hohenzollern Prussia
Holy Roman Empire
Frederick William the Great (1640-1688)
Junkers
Expansion: Poland
III.
Physical Landscape
The importance of geography
Boundaries
Three regions: Balkans, Danubian basin, Polish plain
IV.
Demographic Landscape
A natural funnel
Major language groups
Slavs, Germans, Turks, indigenous peoples, Jews,
Gypsies
III.
Habsburg Austria
Traditional lands: Austrias, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria,
Tyrol
Expansion: Poland, Dalmatia, Northern Italy, Bohemia,
Transylvania, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania
V.
Cultural Geography
Levels of culture: macro, intermediate, micro
Macro: West European, East European, Islamic
Intermediate: the nation states
Micro: ethnicity
Cultural plate tectonics
IV.
Ottoman Turkey
Suleiman the Magnificent (1520-1566)
Expansion: Anatolia to Byzantium, Greece, Macedonia,
Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Hungary
V.
Muscovite and Romanov Russia
Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584)
Peter the Great (1682-1725)
Expansion: Estonia, Livonia, Karelia (Sweden), Ukraine,
Lithuania, Poland
VI. Demographic History
Migrations and invasions
Greek observations
The Roman Empire
The Slavic migrations
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VI.
Polish Decline
Union with Lithuania
Partitions by Austria, Prussia, Russia: 1772, 1793, 1795
Expansion: Ukraine, Prussia
3. REASON AND ROMANTICISM: EASTERN EUROPE,
1770-1848
I.
The Eighteenth Century Intellectual Climate
The Enlightenment
The Industrial Revolution
Romanticism
Revolutions
II.
Enlightened Absolutism
Crown, nobles, peasants
The enlightened monarchs: Frederick II (Prussia),
Stanislas Augustus (Poland), Catherine II (Russia), Maria
Theresa and Joseph II (Austria)
Enlightened policies: economy, law, education
Reform from above
III.
The Polish Partitions
Slicing the pie: 1772, 1793, 1795
Kosciuszko’s revolution, 1794
IV.
Impact of the French Revolution
Revolutionary Enlightenment
Nationalism
The Napoleonic Wars
Order or revolt? A mixed legacy
Joseph II’s defeat
Paradoxes of enlightened absolutism (Leopold II and
Francis II)
Rise of romanticism and instability
V.
VI.
Revitalized liberalism, romanticism, nationalism
The modernization dilemma
Language and nation
The nation-makers
Education and radicalism
Aggressive and exclusive nationalism
VII. A Series of Revolts
The Serbian Revolt, 1802-1830 (Janissaries and
pashas, Petrovic and Serbian independence)
The Greek Revolution, 1821-1832 (Lack of native elites,
Western “assistance”)
The Polish Revolt, 1830 (Alliance with Napoleon,
Romantic dreams)
IX.
Conclusion
Nation above all
Prelude to revolution
4. SPRINGTIME OF NATIONS: 1848
I.
Introduction
Absolutism on the defensive
A complex political example
National fragmentation
Classes and nations
II.
Revolutionary Demands
Liberal, social, radical
The political spectrum
International interests
III.
Major nationalist movements
Hungarians and independent Magyar state
Czechs and Austro-Slavism or Pan-Slavism
Austro-Germans and Pan-Germanism
The Congress of Vienna and Conservatism
Metternich and the balance of power
Conservatism
2
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
Prologue to Revolution
Economic crises
Galician Revolt of 1846
Italian Revolt, 1847-1849
5. SEARCH FOR NEW STRUCTURES: EAST EUROPE IN THE
1860s
I.
The Lessons of 1848
Class and nation
The specter of popular revolution
Law and order
Great Power rivalries
II.
The Eastern Question Emerges
The “Sick Man” of Europe
The Era of Tanzimat Reforms
The Crimean War, 1853-1856
The Treaty of Paris (1856)
Romanian “independence”
III.
Poland’s Tragedy
Revival of nationalism
The 1863 rebellion
The end of romantic nationalism
IV.
Austria-Hungary and the Dual Empire
Working out 1848
Neoabsolutism
Military crisis and constitutional change: 1860
and 1865
The Great Council of Empire and the Reichsrat
The Ausgleich of 1867
V.
Era of Liberal Compromise
Achievements and Problems
The End of the Metternich Regime, March 1848
Opening salvos
To the streets in Vienna, Budapest, Prague
Imperial paralysis and the end of an era
The Resurgence of Hungary
Expansion of agriculture
Recession
Thwarted ambitions
Szechenyi’s call for reform
Peasant revolt
Kossuth and radicalism
Mass political awakening
The nationalist response
The “Personal Union”
Civil war and foreign intervention
Czech Revival
The ethnic puzzle
Palacky and defense of the Empire
Cultural renaissance
Autonomy and Pan-Slavism
The Prague Pan-Slav Congress
Deepening alienation
The Viennese Revolutions
The moderates’ “betrayal”
Mounting popular/radical unrest
Perspectives on 1848
Victory of liberalism?
New class tensions
Few national gains
Liberalism, nationalism, and fragmentation
6. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY IN THE 1860s
I.
Mixed Industrial Development
The liberal compromise
A dual economy: agriculture and industry
A gradient of industrial development
Implications
3
II.
Theories of Underdevelopment
Marxist stage theory: the replication of capitalism
Wallerstein and core-periphery theory
Gerschenkron and state-generated capitalism
Moore and Stokes: social factors
III.
The Foundations of Economic Modernization
Austria and the state-liberal alliance
Poland and state patronage
Hungary and agricultural capitalism
The Balkans and foreign dependence
IV.
The Persistence of Peasant Ways
Population pressures
Proletarianization without urbanization
Reinvestment in agriculture
The paradoxes of liberalism
V.
Problems and portents
Catalyst for nationalism
Uneven accumulation of capital
Merger of propertied classes
Growth of foreign investment
Political and economic tensions
Traditional: loyalty, religion, bureaucracy, economy
Liberal: new habits of political association
IV.
Forces of Instability
Nationalism and privilege
Class issues: state vs. liberals, lower vs. privileged
classes
State/liberal tensions and their resolution
Christian socialism
Worker/liberal tensions
V.
Mass Political Movements
Christian socialism
Socialism and trade-unionism
Principles of Marxism (Hegel and the dialectic, premise
of dialectical materialism, capitalism as a mode of
production, alienation, communism)
Peasantism
VI.
Poland and the Russian Empire
Rising hopes
The halo of martyrdom
A stifled generation
Ambivalence over Russia
7. CENTRAL EUROPE AND THE ORIGINS OF MASS POLITICS
I.
Introduction: The Habsburg Balancing Act
Mass politicization
Outward stability and internal fragmentation
II.
Implications of the Ausgleich
The vestiges of 1848
German ascendancy under Bismarck (Grossdeutsch and
Kleindeutsch)
Liberal and national tensions
III.
Forces of Stability
8. ROAD TO SARAJEVO: THE BALKANS, 1875-1914
I.
Bismarck and a Unified Germany
Balance of power upset
Competition in the Balkans
Balkan nationalist dreams
Hostile camps
II.
The Russo-Turkish Wars, 1875-1878
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. the Ottoman Empire
Serbia and Russia join the fray
British and Austrian opposition
Bulgaria’s bid for independence
The Treaty of San Stefano
4
III.
The Treaty of Berlin, 1878
A new settlement
Russian humiliation
Serbian ambition
The unification of Bulgaria (1886)
IV.
The Annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina
Serbia and the idea of Yugoslavism
Trade wars and Austrian annexation of BosniaHerzegovina
Serbian rage
V.
The Macedonian Question
Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek, Ottoman claims
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
(IMRO)
The Young Turks Revolution
VI.
The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913
Anti-Ottoman alliance: The Balkan League
Albanian independence
The alliance dissolves
The fragility of peace
Austro-Hungarian unpreparedness
Czech defection: Tomas Masaryk
Hungarian defection
Popular defection
Losses
National independence over social change
IV.
10. THE FAILURE OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY
I.
The Problem of Self-Determination
Hidden national minorities
Dangers of the principle of ethnic homogeneity
The inadequacy of protective treaties
Territorial disputes: de jure and de facto
II.
Political Troubles
Republics and monarchies
Starting from scratch
Gains of constitutional democracy
Radicalism unleashed
Unity and the national ideal
Taxation and foreign loans
Fragmentation and inexperience
Disillusionment—and new saviors
9. WORLD WAR I AND ITS AFTERMATH
I.
Causes of the War
The Habsburg swan song: review of Balkan events
Deepening Great Power divisions
Uneven economic wealth and the need for markets
Independence as a panacea
II.
Move to War
Chain reaction
Austria-Hungary's culpability
The Allies and the Central Powers
III.
Course of the War
A New Eastern Europe
Self-determination triumphant
Versailles and related treaties, 1919-1920
Strengths and flaws
Portents
II.
Economic Crisis
Disruption of trade patterns
Economic nationalism
Land redistribution
Persistent problems
5
III.
The Great Depression
Course in East Europe
Germany's colonial policy
IV.
Foreign Policy
Revisionism and its challengers
The Little Entente
The idea of a Third Europe
V.
VI.
VII.
Peasantism
"The Green Rising"
Goals
Differences with Marxism
Problems of organization
Communism
Sources of strength
Split from socialism
Directives from Moscow
III.
The Nazi New Order
Deficiencies of organization
Economic exploitation
Racial policies
IV.
Anti-Semitic Policy and the Holocaust
Ghettoization
Culling (Einsatzgruppen)
Extermination
V.
Resistance
Organization
Activities
Reprisals
12. COMMUNISM TRIUMPHANT
I.
Fascism
Victory by default?
Western abdication
The example--and "friendship"--of Germany
Goals and appeal
Wartime division into spheres
Eastern Europe as reward
Reconstruction costs
Economic or political domination?
Four forms of Soviet influence
Popular Front governments
11. WORLD WAR II AND THE HOLOCAUST
I.
II.
The Soviet Bloc
Military and moral victory
Nazi Penetration of East Europe
Hitler's plan: Lebensraum for Aryans
From colonialism to rabble-rousing
Diplomatic fraud and the stepping-stone policy
Appeasement and irredentism
The fourth partition of Poland
The Italian invasion
East Europe and the Costs of War
Differing experiences of war
Casualties and material losses
Systematic genocide
II.
Revolutionary Change
Soviet intimidation and popular support
The prestige of resistance fighters
Communism’s promises
Communist strategies
III.
The Cold War in Eastern Europe
Delivery of Eastern Europe to the USSR
The Truman Doctrine
Refusal of Marshall aid
Warsaw Pact, Comecon, Cominform
6
IV.
V.
Neo-Stalinist Regimes
Anti-fascist popular fronts
Transfer of state assets
Leftist efforts to monopolize politics
Land reforms: “voluntary collectivization”
Characteristics of Stalinist Eastern Europe
Elements of Stalinism
Economic miracles in industry
Low standard of living
Centralized economic planning
Urbanization and stagnation of agriculture
Communist Party monopolization
Rise of a new elite
Unchanging realities
Gierek and foreign borrowing
Lech Walesa and Solidarity
IV.
Czechoslovakia’s “Socialism with a Human Face”
The Prague Spring
Double demands: Economic and ideological
Dubcek and the invasion of 1968
Internal emigration
Charter 77
V.
Albania’s Search for a Protector
Great power patrons
Hoxha’s dictatorship
V.
Romanian Economic Nationalism
The “Moscow Communists”
“Self-reliant” industry
Ceausescu and national poverty
Nepotism and corruption
VI.
Bulgarian Loyalty to the USSR
More “Moscow Communists”
Zhivkov and nationalism
Following Moscow
VII.
Hungary and Market Socialism
Kadar’s olive branch
Commercial and managerial freedoms
The “New Economic Mechanism”
“Refrigerator consumerism”
VIII.
Decentralized Yugoslavia
Native communist partisans
More Stalinist than Stalin
Excommunication
Tito and decentralization
Local bosses and religious revival
13. DESTALINIZATION AND NATIONAL ROADS TO
SOCIALISM
I.
II.
III.
Confounded Expectations
Workers’ paradise?
Accomplishments by 1953
Failures
Denunciation of Stalinism
Promises of non-intervention
The reality of Soviet tanks
The Soviets’ fragile control
Waning Enthusiasm
Disillusionment of the masses
The campaign for real socialism
Nagy and Hungary’s declaration of independence, 1956
Buy-offs and concessions
Rising expectations
The limits of independence
Poland and Solidarity
Gomulka and the thaw
Working relationship with the Catholic Church
7
IX.
The Dark Side of National Communism
Greater political legitimacy?
Deep-rooted ethnic hatreds
End of the internationalist commitment
Fragmented regional economy
Ideological stagnation
VII.
In the Wake of 1989
The stragglers
The triple transition
1989 in retrospect
VIII.
Prospects and Problems
14. THE REVOLUTIONS OF 1989
I.
Causes of Discontent
Multicausality—no easy answers
II.
Economic Crisis
Worldwide recession
Problems of centralized planning
The oil crisis
Poor political solutions
III.
Crisis of Legitimacy
Corruption and inefficiency
Loss of faith
Revolution from within
IV.
Reform in the USSR
Systemic crisis
The Gorbachev revolution
A worsening economy
Glasnost, demokratizatsiia, perestroika
Non-interference in Eastern Europe
V.
The Year of Liberation
The Berlin Wall crumbles
The wave of revolution
Caution swept aside
VI.
Collapse of the USSR
Chaos ad confusion
Reform schemes
The 1991 coup and the end of the USSR
8