Authors

Discussion

Multilingual states open up perspectives for research that combines elements from various disciplines—e.g. social and political sciences, linguistics, cultural studies, and, last but not least, history. Against this backdrop, the introduction to the panel has two aims. In a first step, the paper will assess the way in which theories and concepts from the field of conflict and security studies cater the needs of those historians who analyse multilingual states. The presentation will also highlight the voids and gaps we are still facing when focusing on aspects of linguistic and cultural diversity in security-related studies. Furthermore, it will introduce model components from securitization theory and conflict linguistics to test their applicability for historical analysis.

In a second step, the example of the Habsburg Empire between 1867 and 1918 will be presented as an ideal test case for combining different disciplinary approaches when it comes to analysing multinational states and empires. Despite the multilingual fabric of the empire’s population, it would be misleading to conceptualize the late Habsburg monarchy as a multinational state structure. What is important is that the empire rather embodied the idea of a composite state, instead of mirroring the multitude of languages spoken and used in the administration in its constitutional fabric. The paper will therefore shortly reflect on the legally framed, multi-layered power structure of Austria-Hungary that, precisely because of its ambiguity, retained its basic features for fifty years. It will then elaborate on the question of empire, state and nation and on the role of political institutions that were involved in defining the status of the different languages spoken throughout the empire. It will also shed some light on the intensive discussion among contemporaries about balancing the interests of different nations and the cohesion of the dual state structure. At the end of the presentation, a catalogue of research questions and hypotheses will serve as input for the subsequent contributions to the panel.