Pre-war
1914
Outbreak of the war
1915
1916
1917
1918
End of the war
Post-war

Jakob Zenzmaier

Chapter

International laws of war. Genesis of a juridification

When is it legally acceptable to wage war and what is just in a war? These questions appear holier-than-thou in view of the enormous suffering that war brings with it. And yet, wars never take place in a complete legal vacuum. Rather the opposite is the case.

Chapter

Total mobilisation – the First World War and special measures

The First World War and the special measures announced in connection with it led to a hitherto unseen level of militarisation. Basic civil rights were considerably reduced, public opinion was subject to censorship and propaganda, economic and administrative competences were shifted to the military authorities, and military justice was extended to civilian affairs.

Chapter

Suicide, questions in parliament and pathological military discourse

The consequences of the often brutal training of soldiers and the way in which the military encroached increasingly on other social spheres are illustrated by the questions in parliament regarding suicides in the Austro-Hungarian army. They were often preceded by brutality. The military authorities tried to repel the criticism by referring to contemporary ideas of psychophysiological pathology.

Chapter

Universal conscription as the fundamental militarisation of society

The introduction of universal conscription marked the start of the fundamental militarisation of society in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. At the same time, public awareness of the military changed: from a dubious place for forcibly conscripted lower classes to a respected “school of the nation”.

Chapter

From the Theresian reforms to the battle of Königgrätz

The systematic promotion of the military began under Maria Theresa and was to make it in the following decades into a commanding instrument of power. The wars with revolutionary France marked a new development in militarism, which also affected the Habsburg Monarchy.

Chapter

Militarisation and nation-building: an interaction

What do "militarisation" and “militarism” mean? Can a clear distinction be made between the two terms? And when does the social militarisation process take place? At all events, the formation of modern states is closely linked with this process.

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