Péter Apor, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of History, has been awarded funding for Austrian-Hungarian research cooperation through a grant announced by the National Research, Development, and Innovation Office.

This project, undertaken in collaboration with the University of Vienna and supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), is jointly led by Péter Apor and Lucile Dréidemy, a professor in the Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna.

The research investigates Austria and Hungary's relationships with the non-European world during the interwar period. While the diplomatic, economic, and cultural connections of these nations with Africa, Asia, and Latin America from 1918 to 1939 have received less scholarly attention compared to the Cold War or pre-1914 periods, this project aims to fill this significant gap. It will reassess these connections, offering new comparative insights and focusing on previously underexplored foreign policy lobby groups, industrial collaborations, and trade networks.

fortepan 177195Fortepan 177195

Key areas of study include transnational political and economic networks such as the Pan-Europa Union, the Austrian Colonial Society, the Hungarian Cobden Society, the Austrian Exportförderungsinstitut, Hungarian sea trading companies, and the cooperation between Fritz Mandl and Manfréd Weiss industries, along with the Julius Meinl company. By examining these networks, the research seeks to uncover how Austria and Hungary redefined their international roles after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The project’s comparative approach highlights the differing responses of Austria and Hungary to shared historical changes, providing a deeper understanding of their unique national trajectories within the context of their common historical heritage. Furthermore, the collaboration will enhance knowledge of transnational linkages and the circulation of ideas between the two nations, while also exploring their connections with broader global actors after 1918.

This research not only addresses an underexplored chapter of Austrian and Hungarian history but also contributes to a better understanding of their interconnectedness in a changing world.