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Political Radicalism in Late Imperial Vienna

Origins of the Christian Social Movement, 1848-1897

John Boyer offers a meticulously researched examination of the social and political atmosphere of late imperial Vienna. He traces the demise of Vienna’s liberal culture and the burgeoning of a new radicalism, exemplified by the rise of Karl Lueger and the Christian Socialist Party during the latter half of the nineteenth century. This important study paves the way for new readings of fin de siecle Viennese politics and their broader European significance.

"Offers a comprehensive, multicausal study of the rise of Christian Socialism in Vienna, that phenomenon which was experienced nowhere else in urban Central Europe and which culminated in the famous clash between the Austrian establishment and the colourful, domineering lead of the movement, Karl, Lueger."—R.J.W. Evans, History

"Boyer’s analysis is masterful in terms of research, exposition, and organization. His use of available economic data is judicious, and his sense of the social structure of late nineteenth-century Vienna is formidable."—William A. Jenks, American Historical Review

"To understand Viennese and even imperial politics in the latter half of the nineteenth century, Boyer’s book is absolutely essential.""—Robert Wegs, Review of Politics

592 pages | 6 x 9 | © 1995

History: General History

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Map of Vienna
1. Austrian Liberals and Liberal Politics, 1848-79: Bürger Privilege and the Fragmentation of Bourgeois Politics
2. The Viennese Artisans and the Origins of Political Antisemitism, 1880-90
3. Catholic Politics in Vienna: The Radical Clergy and the Restoration of Mittelstand Society
4. Karl Lueger and the Radicalization of Viennese Democracy, 1875-90
5. The Transformation of Viennese Politics: Metropolitan Vienna, White Collar Radicalism, and the Elections of 1891
6. The Collapse of the Liberals and the Antisemitic Conquest of Vienna
Conclusion
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index

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