Liberalism and the Habsburg Monarchy, 1861-1895

Often the liberal movement has been viewed through the lens of its later German nationalism. This presents only one facet of a wide-ranging, all-encompassing project to regenerate the Habsburg Monarchy. By analysing its various nuances, this volume provides a new, more positive interpretation of Austro-German liberalism.

“Kwan’s book can be recommended as a valuable addition to the literature on the late Habsburg Monarchy, all the more so as it covers a relatively neglected period and theme.” (Alan Sked, Journal of Modern History, Vol. 88 (3), September, 2016)“In his engagingly written book, Jonathan Kwan analyses liberalism in Habsburg Austria from 1861, when the parliament was reintroduced and censorship was lifted, through 1895, the final cabinet to include Austro-German liberals collapsed. … This book, solidly based on newspaper and numerous other printed primary and secondary materials, with some archival sources, is a useful contribution to Habsburg when historiography. Those looking for a positive interpretation of Austro-German liberalism will have found it in this volume.”(Nancy M. Wingfield, European Review of History, Vol. 22 (5), 2015) 

Jonathan Kwan is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Nottingham, UK. He has studied at the Universities of Queensland, London and Oxford. Publications include articles on the 1867 Compromise, the Transylvanian Saxon community and other topics associated with the Habsburg Monarchy and Central Europe in the nineteenth century.