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Renegotiating the empire, forging the nation (-state): the Bohemian/Czechoslovakian case through the political–economic thought of Thomas G. Masaryk and Karel Kramář, c. 1890–1920s

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Adrian Brisku
Adrian Brisku*
Affiliation:
The Institute of International Studies, Social Sciences Department, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic School of Arts and Sciences, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
*
*Email: abrisku@yahoo.com
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Abstract

This article explores the dilemma of the small Bohemian Lands/Czechoslovak nation (-state) in staying “in” or “out” of the larger Habsburg supranational entity in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. It does so mainly through the language of political economy (on national wealth creation and redistribution) articulated in the opinions and political actions of Czechoslovakia's two founding statesmen, the first president, Thomas G. Masaryk, and the first prime minister, Karel Kramař. The article argues that their choice of staying “in” the large imperial space was premised upon renegotiating a better political and political–economic deal for the Bohemian Lands, whereas the option of abandoning it and of forging the Czechoslovak nation-state was essentially based on political reasons. And while both advocated an interventionist role for the state in the economy during the imperial period, they considered such a prerogative even more essential for their new nation-state.

Keywords

Bohemian LandsCzechoslovak nation-statepolitical economyfederalismsmall versus large statesAustro-Hungarian EmpireMasarykKramař
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 45 , Issue 4 , July 2017 , pp. 632 - 650
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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