Levéltári Közlemények, 87. (2016)

Habsburgok és Magyarország a kiegyezést követően - Cieger András: Legitimációs problémák az 1867. évi osztrák-magyar kiegyezésben

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Legitimációs problémák az 1867. évi osztrák-magyar kiegyezésben András Cieger

Legitimation Problems in the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867

The aim of this paper is to analyse the political system of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise with the help of the legitimation theories of political science and to show the political elite’s moral, constitutional, and practical dilemmas. Most of all, this study examined the Hungarian political situation after 1867, and also made an effort to briefly describe the problems of Austrian political life. The viewpoints of the examination are: the readiness of subjects to submission, the moral acceptance of the political system, the belief in the legitimacy of authority (M. Weber), fears and anxieties of society and of the ruling elite (G. Ferrero), the legality of getting power, theoretical justification of norms, values, principles which legitimate the authority (D. Beetham, J. Habermas), the symbolic signs and acts (feasts, rituals, heroes etc.), and at last the system-stabilizing efficiency of governments (S. M. Lipset).

Adopting the theory of Ferrero this paper states that the new political system hadn’t got complete legitimacy, it worked in pre-legitimated status: it was legitimated formally, but not substantially. Of course, in 1918 the Monarchy did not fall because of its legitimation deficit, after all it could survive for five decades and could contribute to the development of the East-Central European region. Nevertheless, the legitimation problems of dualism can explain the dubious judgement on the Compromise of 1867 in after times. Sociological researches show that until nowadays the Compromise could not become part of the national memory.

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