Austroslavism

The peoples of Austria-Hungary in 1911

Austroslavism was a political movement among the Slavic peoples of Austria-Hungary (especially among the Czechs ) in the second half of the 19th century . His followers sought to reform the Austro-Hungarian double monarchy into a tripartite state. The main ideologists of Austro-Slavism were the elders Frantisek Palacki and Frantisek Ladislav Rieger , as well as the Austrian Social Democrats Otto Bauer and Victor Adler . Around 1890, Austroslavism was replaced by the political ideas of the radical youths .

The goal of Austro-Slavism was not only the triple empire, but also the far-reaching federalization and democratization of Austria-Hungary. The followers of Austroslavism did not reject the monarchy as such, but demanded autonomy for certain peoples of the empire. However, after the Austro-Hungarian agreement of 1867 and the corresponding Hungarian-Croat agreement of 1868/1873, the hope of democratization in the form of a new federal division of Austria-Hungary fell apart. Within the Hungarian kingdom, since 1867, strict Magyarization was carried out, the purpose of which was to create a unitary Magyar national state by assimilating a non-Hungarian, primarily Slavic, population.

Separate principles of Austro-Slavism were adopted in the concept of the United States of Austria , which, however, remained unfulfilled.