The "Alpen-Adria" region 1945-1955

This project seeks to shed light on the inter- and transnational history of a conflicted European region that was affected by border disputes and ethnic strife. It aims at contributing to a better understanding of the developments in three countries with a common history. The "Alpen-Adria" region can roughly be described as the common border areas of Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia. All these lands had been part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until 1918. The settlements after World Wars I and II, as well as the Cold War, redefined the borders and reshaped the frontiers of the three countries involved in this study. The sense of a common approach to the history of this region does not mainly derive from the common history in the Habsburg Empire; it derives from the way the region in question was shaped after 1945. This project seeks to show how much the fields of conflict were interconnected in the period of analysis and how this interconnection formed the fate of the countries involved, demonstrating the importance of a long overdue analysis. This shall be achieved by analysing a variety of economical, political, social and diplomatic aspects that have not been in the focus of research so far, expecting significant gains of knowledge for the scientific community and the public. Historical and memorial sources as well as comparative approaches will be taken into account. The most important tool of this concept is a multilayered structure of the research questions that shall reflect the international, national, regional, and local levels as well as layers of history, memory, life, and politics. Thus, a more complete picture of the developments shall be achieved. The project will not only focus on regional affairs, but rather take inter- and multinational perspectives into account, which shall lead to a better understanding of the conflicts. Tracing the links between decisions taken in one part of the analysed area and the repercussions in another part of the region will play an important role in this project. Similarly, the connection between political decisions on a national scale, their consequences on a regional level and the result of regional conflicts for national politics will provide new insights on strategies in the region. Moreover the approach of the great powers in the east and the west to the conflicted areas will be taken into account. The period of analysis will be the time between the end of World War II and the respective settlement of some of the most important international questions in the region, such as the London memorandum for Trieste in 1954 and the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955.

The project The Alpen-Adria Region 1945-1955 sought to shed light on the history of a conflicted, multinational European region that was affected by border disputes and ethnic strife and to explain the policies of three countries with a rich common history. The Alpen-Adria region can roughly be described as the common border areas of Austria, Italy and Yugoslavia. All these lands were part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire until 1918. The settlements after World Wars I and II, as well as the Cold War, defined the borders and shaped the national frontiers of the three countries involved in this study. The sense of a common approach to the history of this region does not mainly derive from the common history in the Habsburg Empire, it derives from the way the region in question was shaped after 1945. This project has shown how much the fields of conflict (Trieste, Carinthia, South Tyrol) were interconnected in the period of analysis and how this interconnection shaped the fate of the countries involved, demonstrating the importance of a long overdue analysis. The links between decisions taken in one part of the analysed area and the repercussions on the whole region, played an important role in this project. This is proof that the Alpen-Adria region should not merely be seen as an area with different bilateral conflicts, but rather as one multinational region, as all actors involved in the solution of conflicts understood. The project-goals were achieved by analysing a variety of economic, political, social and diplomatic aspects that have not been in the focus of research before, achieving significant gains of knowledge for the scientific community and the concerned countries themselves. Historical, comparative and memorial sources were be taken into account. The most important achievement of this concept was to add an international and multi-layered structure to the research questions. Thus, a more complete picture of the events could be drawn. The project did not only focus on developments related to regional affairs, but took an inter- and multinational perspective into account, which led to a better understanding of the conflicts that arose in the period of research. The connection between political decisions on a national scale, their repercussions on a regional level and the result of regional conflicts for national politics, provided new insights on strategies in the region. Moreover the approach of the great powers, the Soviet Union and the USA, to the conflicted areas was taken into account throughout the period of analysis. Finally, the analysis of this region has also brought to light the importance of transnational perspectives, such as the policies of the communist parties in the region. This perspective has indeed shown that on the level of national and transnational party politics, the region as a whole was of imminent importance, not least, to gain national and international political power.