R. W. Seton-Watson and Nation-Building Clashes in Late Habsburg Space

Abstract

The British historian R. W. Seton-Watson was notorious as a vocal critic of the late Habsburg Monarchy and supposedly one of its 'grave-diggers'. This article, based on a detailed scrutiny of Seton-Watson's public writings, examines for the first time how logically he interpreted the process of nation-building in Austria-Hungary, focusing on Hungary and the Southern Slav region before 1914. It argues that Seton-Watson, while adopting contemporary ideas about ancient racial struggles and the organic character of nations, also saw nationalism as something inherently modern and progressive which the Habsburg authorities could not ignore. In his search for viable solutions to keep the peace, he drew repeatedly on a British national model of diversity and devolution. And while idealistic in his commitment to the 'nationality principle', he was also pragmatic and flexible about what could be achieved inside or outside the Habsburg state framework.