Jeremy R. N. King

I propose to write two chapters of a book about the "little compromises," a set of constitutional amendments partly implemented in the Habsburg Monarchy between 1905 and 1914. They offer a superb base from which to gain insight into how or how not to reconcile two or more nations, ethnic groups, or races within a single state without violating liberal civic principles such as freedom of association and individual equality before the law. Through comparison of the little compromises with one another, and to some degree with analagous cases (including Affirmative Action in the US), I will explore the political dynamics of compulsory ethnoracial classification--and thereby contribute both to Central European history writing and to several interdisciplinary literatures.