Historical Science and Politics: The Case of „Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848–1918”

One of the most important research and publication projects of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the series „Die Habsburgermonarchie 1848-1918” was born out of an idea at the end of the Second World War, not only out of the scientific interest in researching one of the great empires in history, but also out of the need to explore possible historical models for the reconstruction of Europe, which was then divided into ideological blocs after the torments of war. One of the prerequisites for this project, which was planned to last several decades, was therefore to involve experts from both the West and the East. This is how the twelve volumes of the series came about, covering aspects ranging from the political establishment, legislation and parlia- mentarism to everyday life, culture and the First World War. One of the main editors of these volumes, Peter Urbanitsch, describes in this article how the idea of such a broad and internationally sustained publication project was born and depicts the development of the volumes describing the reception of these contributions and the lively interest shown by both politicians and experts. In the context of contemporary challenges facing the European Union, such as federalism and centralism, or the impact of nationalisms, he concludes that the highly complex development of the Habsburg monarchy and many of the scientific discoveries achieved may be relevant for present and future Europe.