France, Britain, Italy and the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918

Harry Hanák

pp. 30-61

in: Norman Stone, Eduard Strouhal (eds), Czechoslovakia, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 1989

Abstract

When in 1918 the great empires collapsed — Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany and Turkey — and independent national states arose in eastern and central Europe, it seemed as if the movement for national liberation which had begun in the early nineteenth century with the Greek revolt against the Turks and the revolt of the Spanish colonies in South America, had achieved its final triumph. The connection made between nationalism, liberalism and democracy had been proved correct. In the 70 years since then, the calls of nationalism have spread throughout the world, so that now, in 1989, only one major multinational empire survives. Did this have to be? The Concert of Europe, even until 1913, contained nationalism — to the applause, often enough, of public opinion. Why did this brake cease to operate in 1918?