Mirages and Illusions: The Prospects of Hungarian Imperial Ambitions during the Era of Dualism (1867–1918)

Although the Hungarian political elite recognized that it is the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy which provided the country with a position of great power, from the 1890s onwards there was a noticeable increase in independent Hungarian expansionist efforts. Among the complex reasons for this were the results of the Hungarian state's modernization program, the economic development, and the emergence of a new elite of officials and politicians who had been socialised in the institutional system of Dualism, were au fait with the system, and were able to use it. The strengthening of Hungarian positions and the search for opportunities to assert the country’s interests within the common institutional system of Austria-Hungary, a series of economic policy measures, efforts to gain ground economically, mainly in the south-east, and, to a certain extent and in certain points, the goal of creating a Hungarian nation state emerged as means of achieving expansionist goals. Although the political elite could rightly feel that the country's room for manoeuvre, weight, and ability to assert its interests within the Monarchy had increased, giving rise to a certain optimism, this proved to be a kind of optical illusion. It is true that Hungary's clout within the Monarchy had increased, but the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy was steadily losing its importance compared to the other great powers, so the Hungarian elite could formulate its ambitious goals as a strengthening element of a weakening Empire.