Interwar East Central Europe, 1918-1941: The Failure of Democracy-building, the Fate of Minorities (Routledge Studies in Modern European History)

This monograph focuses on the challenges that interwar regimes faced and how they coped with them in the aftermath of World War One, focusing especially on the failure to establish and stabilize democratic regimes, as well as on the fate of ethnic and religious minorities. Topics explored include the political systems and how they changed during the two decades under review, land reform, Church–state relations, and culture. Countries studied include Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. " S abrina Ramet has assembled a team of highly respectable country specialists to offer a fresh and historiographically updated reading of interwar developments in East Central Europe. The volume is bookended by two excellent comparative and theoretically informed essays carefully weighing the multiplicity of factors contributing to the instability of the interwar regimes. As a result this survey succeeds admirably in producing a nuanced narrative and analysis ." - Maria Todorova, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA Sabrina Ramet, together with a roster of other eminent scholars, has produced an exciting new history of interwar East Central Europe. The volume has a clear focus on the failure of democracy (1918 to 1941), and on the bedeviling issues of ethnic minorities and of peasants; the latter made up an overwhelming majority of much of the region's population. The book will be of great interest to political scientists and historians of East Central Europe, and of Europe more generally, and it is perfect for classroom use . - Irina Livezeanu, University of Pittsburgh, USA This monograph focuses on the challenges that interwar regimes faced and how they coped with them in the aftermath of World War One, focusing especially on the failure to establish and stabilize democratic regimes, as well as on the fate of ethnic and religious minorities. Topics explored include the political systems and how they changed during the two decades under review, land reform, Church–state relations, and culture. Countries studied include Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 List of Tables 10 List of contributors 13 Preface 16 1. Interwar East Central Europe, 1918–1941: The failure of democracy-building, the fate of minorities – an Introduction 22 2. The Polish Second Republic: The geopolitics of failure 56 3. Interwar Czechoslovakia – a national state for a multiethnic population 96 4. Interwar Hungary: Democratization and the fate of minorities 130 5. Interwar Romania: Enshrining ethnic privilege 165 6. Interwar Bulgaria: Populism, authoritarianism, and ethnic minorities 199 7. The kingdom of diversity and paternalism: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes/Yugoslavia, 1918–1941 234 8. Interwar Albania 270 9. The Peasantries and Peasant Parties of Interwar East Central Europe 293 Afterword 338 Index 353 "1 Interwar East Central Europe,1918–1941"; 2 The Polish Second Republic; 3 Interwar Czechoslovakia– a national state for a multiethnic population; 4 Interwar Hungary; 5 Interwar Romania; 6 Interwar Bulgaria; 7 The kingdom of diversity and paternalism; 8 Interwar Albania; 9 The Peasantries and Peasant Parties of Interwar East Central Europe; Afterword 1 Interwar East Central Europe, 1918–1941,2 The Polish Second Republic,3 Interwar Czechoslovakia– a national state for a multiethnic population,4 Interwar Hungary,5 Interwar Romania,6 Interwar Bulgaria,7 The kingdom of diversity and paternalism,8 Interwar Albania,9 The Peasantries and Peasant Parties of Interwar East Central Europe,Afterword "This monograph focuses on the challenges which interwar regimes faced and how they coped with them in the aftermath of World War I, focusing especially on the failure to establish and stabilize democratic regimes, as well as on the fate of ethnic and religious minorities. Topics explored include the political systems and how they changed during the two decades under review, land reform, Church-state relations, and culture. Countries studied include Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania"-- Provided by publisher