SUMMARY:

Pieter M. Judson questions the validity of modern debates regarding the legacy of empires by challenging the traditional dichotomy between “empire” and “nation-state,” particularly in the context of post-Habsburg Central Europe. He argues that the collapse of the Habsburg Empire was driven not so much by nationalist uprisings and secessionism, but rather by the empire’s internal failures to provide for its subjects amidst wartime crises. Consequently, the newly formed successor states, while rhetorically based on nationalist ideals, frequently adopted imperial practices such as differential rule over minorities and territorial expansion. Judson suggests that the rigid separation of “empire” and “nation-state” as analytical categories obscures the significant continuities and shared practices between these forms of political organization. Both in the past and today, this blurring of boundaries is vividly demonstrated by nationalizing empires and imperialist nation-states.