Ethnic Nationalism and the Fall of Empires: Central Europe, the Middle East and Russia, 1914-23

By Aviel Roshwald

Book Overview

An examination of the critical dilemmas of nationalist politics in the First World War. It proposes that the war catapulted nationalist movements into positions of authority well before they were ready culturally or politically.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415242290
• ISBN13: 9780415242295
• Release Date: November 2000
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Untangling the Mess

Ever wonder how the messy borders and messy politics of Eastern Europe and the Middle East came into being? Ever try in vain to untangle for yourself or others the confusing and confused history of these regions? Ever try to understand anything about World War I and its aftermath? If you answered yes to these questions, you have come to the right place, the one-stop shop for the subject. Aviel Roshwald's book, "Ethnic Nationalism and the Fall of Empires" sets it all straight. And it does so in remarkably clear and elegant prose. The book is a stunning achievement in historical synthesis that is a "must-read" for anyone calling themselves educated.

the latest failures of multi-cultural empires

This book--'Ethnic nationalism and the fall of Empires' shows that under the stress of war, elitism, the failure to create and foster common causality, and with no real goal, empires like the Russian Romanov State, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, just will NOT survive. The lessons to be learned is that when there is either no common language, or the no attempt to learn the official spoken tongue, any nation--especially the United States of America, loyalty will be, at best, illusive. America's strength is in diversity, yet there MUST also be common goals, from a common heritage. The Romanov Dynasty was never truly able to "Russify" it's vast diverse populations. For the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish language was never accepted by the majority of it's "citizens", and in the case of the growing Christian Armenian community, it was religion that helped "do in" the Turkish Ottoman "commonwealth". In the case of Austria-Hungary, the ruling Hapsburg dynasty tried to "Austro-Germanize" the growing Slovakian, Czech, Bosnian, and Croat minorities, but could not create a new Swiss-style confederation, with language, cultural, and political autonomy for it's diverse subjects. Also, there never was a major threat or threats during it's creation, that threatened all multi-national elements within it's borders. The Hapsburgs were Vienna-born-and-bred. For the United States of the 21st Century, the growing Hispanic populations MUST be guided towards unity. America MUST be an Organic State, because not to as such will lead to national disintegration. Romanov Russia, Ottoman Turkey, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the "seeds of destruction" within their respective 'corpi-politici'. I recommend this fine book!! Nick Stage-PHDIndiana