Annotation
Central and Eastern Europe was in the "long" 19th century ruled by huge empires. These empires emerged as dynastic states in the early modern period and were characterised by a high degree of ethno-cultural, social and economic diversity. The "great transformation" of the 19th century with its processes of deep economic change, the emergence of nationalism, the rise of class and mass politics posed a severe challenge to the coherence of those pre-modern empires. How did they cope with these challenges in the political, economic and social realm? Which strategies did the imperial governments develop in order to rule effectively, to manage diversity, to tame the centripetal forces and to adapt their rule to modernity?
We will first take a look at recent approaches to the history of empires and discuss key concepts like imperialism, colonialism and postcolonial theory. Then we will examine the development of the Habsburg and the Romanov empires and include the Prussian monarchy/the German Empire founded in 1871 as examples for comparison. Finally we will discuss, how our findings can be related to the Soviet Union.