Financial Networks in the Shadow of Economic Nationalism

Project Name: Financial Networks in the Shadow of Economic Nationalism: A Comparative Study of the Territories of Slovenia and Vojvodina from 1867 to 1929

Project Code: Z6-50192

SICRIS

Economic nationalism was a key element in the nation-building process in Central and Southeastern Europe. In these societies, a long-standing national culture offered an alternative path to modernisation. In the regions under consideration, economic nationalism emerged before the First World War and continued afterwards. This concept should be understood as an integral part of collective self-assertion. Almost all sectors developed autonomous and indigenous operational structures within 19th-century national movements. The demand for economic national differentiation, not merely political, reflected the desire of certain regions to establish parallel cultural, political, and economic systems with distinct national characteristics within their populations. The project examines the dynamics of establishing financial networks and developing financial institutions in the context of economic nationalism in Central and Southeastern Europe. More specifically, it focuses on territories that originally belonged to Austria-Hungary and, after the First World War, became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (the Kingdom of SCS). This comparative study will examine the dynamics of establishing a financial network and its economic and national-political effects in the Slovenian territories that belonged to the Austrian part of the monarchy, as well as in Vojvodina, which was part of the Hungarian half of the state. After 1918, these two peripheral regions became leading economic areas in the new Kingdom of SCS. The project focuses on Slovenian-German relations in the provinces of Carniola and Lower Styria, as well as on relations between Serbs and Hungarians in southern Hungary (today’s Vojvodina).

The research covers the period from 1867 to 1929. The period of dualism brought new circumstances, and Hungary’s situation changed completely. The final decades of the 19th century were marked by national differentiation. The final year considered is 1929, when radical changes began to unfold on a broader, global scale. This was primarily during the Great Depression. In addition, significant political changes occurred in the Kingdom of SHS, leading to the establishment of a royal dictatorship. The methodological framework of the project incorporates complementary approaches, including the comparative-historical approach, quantitative and qualitative methods, and network analysis. This diverse approach will facilitate understanding of the concept of economic nationalism across time and space. The comparison will identify similarities and differences. The study provides insight beyond national frameworks and examines the issue within the broader Central European context. The project’s research is divided into two case studies. The first focuses on the establishment of financial networks, their dynamics, and development processes, while the second examines the development of nationalism that influenced the economy and politics.

Objectives:

Objective 1: To examine the influence and connections between national polarisation, politics and economic development and to assess how these factors influenced the emergence, functioning and development of financial institutions in Slovenia and Southern Hungary (today’s Vojvodina) during the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and after 1918, when the territories in question were part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians.

Objective 2: To observe the dynamics of financial networks and the development of financial intermediaries. To study the existence and functioning of parallel financial institutions and their role in urban and rural areas in the light of economic nationalism.

Objective 3: The Historical Geographic Information System (HGIS, part of the Geographic Information System) is used in the project to store and display the results of the network analyses by geolocating and entering the coordinates of the financial institutions in the study areas.