The 'New Europe' Campaign: The Failure of Liberal Internationalism and the Resilience of Imperialism

The idea of a liberal international order originated from the critique of imperialism, secret diplomacy, and the lack of state accountability. It proposed the institutionalized cooperation of nation-states. Its main elements, ranging from self-determination to minority rights, were developed in a particularly impressive manner in the circles of British and French liberal intellectuals around the First World War who waged a moralizing propaganda campaign against their 'declining' and 'repressive' Austro-Hungarian enemy. Despite the grand ideals of such liberals and a host of supporting statistics and maps, a number of political ideas and practices of the 'old Europe' continued to prevail at the Versailles Peace Conference and beyond.

In this episode, historians of the Habsburg Empire and the First World War analyze the fascinating story of Robert William Seton-Watson's propaganda for the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of a 'New Europe.' They historicize ideas concerning the 'balance of power', European integration, anti-imperialist liberal internationalism, and the making of the post-Habsburg nation-states in Central Europe. The panel argues that while Seton-Watson's campaign was progressive in its ambition to reconcile ethnic diversity and democracy, it was also rooted in a primordial view of nationhood. Lucija Balikić (History Department, CEU & host) discusses these issues with Pieter Judson (EUI, Florence), Mark Cornwall (University of Southampton), Gábor Egry (Institute of Political History, Budapest) and Samuel Foster (University of East Anglia).