The Resurrection and Collapse of Empire in Habsburg Serbia 1914-1918

This book examines the Habsburg Armys occupation of Serbia from 1914 through 1918. This occupation ran along a distinctly European-centered trajectory radically different from other great power colonial projects or occupations during the 20th century. Unlike these projects and occupations the Habsburg Army sought to denationalize and depoliticize Serbia to gradually reduce the occupations violence and to fully integrate the country into the Empire. These aims stemmed from 19th-century conservative and monarchical convictions that compelled the Army to operate under broad legal and civilizational constraints. Gumzs research provides a counterpoint to interpretations of the First World War that emphasize the centrality of racially inflected Darwinist worldviews in the war.