A FÖDERALIZMUS POZÍCIÓI A NAGY HÁBORÚ KORÁBAN A DÉLSZLÁV KÉRDÉS AZ OSZTRÁK ÉS A MAGYAR POLITIKÁBAN 1914–1918 The Southern Slav Question in the Austrian and Hungarian Politics 1914-1918

Abstract

The Southern Slav Question — the idea of an autonomous or independent Southern Slav State — within or outside Austria-Hungary had become a top priority political issue during the Great War, especially in the second half of the war. At least three ways of historical approach may well be considered in this respect. The War Aims politics of the Central and Entente countries produced abundant literature in the last hundred years. The political intentions of the emigrated Southern Slav politicans also went through a profound research with the most important result of being extremely succesful in creating the national unity among the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes irrespectively of their political party orientation. According to the intention of this paper the third aspect: the imperial decision making, on the basis of the protocols of the Austro-Hungarian ministerial councils are in the focus of my attention.

The proces-verbals of the ministerial councils offer deep insight how the political decision-makers had been unable to reach compromise about the integration of Dalmatia and Bosnia-Hercegowina into Croatia-Slavonia. Both parties of the dualism insisted to maintain the status quo: Austria for Dalmatia, Hungary for Bosnia-Hercegowina. Southern Slav territories were at least in two cases objects of junktims against Poland or Roumania. The political integration and the reorganisation of defeated Serbia and Montenegro had been also failed, the Austro-Hungarian War Administration of these countries remained intact until the end of the war. Any Southern Slav aspirations of uniting Dalmatia and Bosnia-Hercegowina with Croatia-Slavonia had been continuously refused.

Austria-Hungary went into war without having any precise political idea about the reconstruction of the Balkans. Its aim had been first and foremost to eliminate the possibility of any Serb irredentism against the Dual Monarchy. At the end it became the victim of the Southern Slav aspirations led by Serbia, being unable to reach political compromise about the modernisation of the dualistic state construction.