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Austria The Failure of Neoabsolutism
Initially, the new Austrian government apparently intended to
implement the constitutional political structures promised in
March 1849. But on December 31, 1851, Franz Joseph formally
revoked the constitution, leaving in place only those provisions
that established the equality of citizens before the law and the
emancipation of the peasants. Popular representation was
eliminated from all government institutions. In order to solidify
a political base supporting neoabsolutist rule, the government
also eliminated the Josephist religious regulations that had been
the source of continuing conflict with the church. In 1855 the
government signed a concordat with the Vatican that recognized
the institutional church as an autonomous and active participant
in public life. The agreement signaled a new era of cooperation
between throne and altar.
Neoabsolutism, with its aim of creating a unified,
supranational state, however, ran counter to the prevailing
European trend. The empire's peoples could not be isolated from
the larger nationalist struggles of the German, Italian, and
Slavic peoples. In Hungary active resistance to the Austrian
government declined, but passive resistance grew. During the
Crimean War (1853-56), the situation in Hungary made Austria
vulnerable to economic and political pressure from Britain and
France, the allies of Turkey against Russia. Thus, when Russia
asked for Austria's support, Austria initially sought to mediate
the conflict but then joined the western allies against Russia.
By failing to repay Russia for its help in Hungary in 1849,
Austria lost critical Russian support for its position in Germany
and Italy.
France took advantage of the estrangement between Austria and
Russia to set up a military confrontation between Austrian and
Italian nationalist forces. This opened the door to French
military intervention in support of the Italians in 1859. Because
Franz Joseph was unwilling to make the concessions that were
Prussia's price for assistance from the German Confederation and
because he feared the French might stir up trouble in Hungary,
Franz Joseph surrendered Lombardy in July 1859.
These failures did not bode well for the anticipated conflict
with Prussia over German unification, so the emperor began to
abandon absolutism and create a more viable political base. He
experimented with various arrangements designed to attract the
support of the military, the Roman Catholic Church, German
liberals, Hungarians, Slavs, and Jews, who were assuming a strong
presence in the economic and political life of the empire.
Urgently needing to resolve the tensions with the Hungarians, the
government opened secret negotiations with them in 1862. The
outline of a dual monarchy was already taking shape by 1865, but
negotiations were deadlocked on the eve of the war with Prussia.
Data as of December 1993
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