Is an Austro-Hungarian commonwealth-type situation possible?

I was reading the other thread regarding the name in a no-WW1 situation. Most people take the route of saving the Habsburg monarchy via a Danubian federation or something of that nature. What if it were taken to the opposite extreme - could a situation like OTL British Commonwealth be possible wherein you have 4-6+ completely independent and separate Eastern/Southern European countries with the same monarch?
 
It would take something like a CP victory in WW1 for the different regions to think about how useful it is to be part of something bigger rather than seeing the writing on the wall and trying to get away from the old empire as quickly as possible as in the OTL. In this case it would require for the Austrians not to get too carried away and caught up in the glorious victory but for more pragmatic heads in government realise how close the empire is to collapse and disharmony, then they might look to a controlled withdrawal from the growing burden of the empire and replacing it with an Austrian version of a European Union, one currency, strong military links, a combined foreign policy, one monarch but independent local goverments
 

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I lately did a lot of research on Monarchy thanks to my ASB story. It amazed me how close it looked to some kind of confederation already past 1867. Military links, foreign policy and common currency were one thing that joined this collection of loose parts before the war. That and Franz Josef. The rest was different in each land. Both civil and penal legal codes, hell they couldn't agree on common right of way. My point is, the state OP describe awfully resembles reality of prewar Austro-Hungary. It has the same vices and slightly more expensive administrative apparatus
 
Military links, foreign policy and common currency were one thing that joined this collection of loose parts before the war. That and Franz Josef. The rest was different in each land. Both civil and penal legal codes, hell they couldn't agree on common right of way. My point is, the state OP describe awfully resembles reality of prewar Austro-Hungary. It has the same vices and slightly more expensive administrative apparatus

Still sounds like the European Union to me, lol :p
 

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Still sounds like the European Union to me, lol :p
Actually an evil twin brother of European Union. EU have no real military links, (although they cooperate in many projects, but as NATO). It struggles to have foreign policy. Curiously the common currency is present in both entities. EU started as a free trade zone, and then progressed on legal and economical matters while leaving the rest for unspecified later.
 
I wonder if the empire had reorganized along a federation lines before the outbreak of world war one (say around the 1860's) would it have been the 'shackled corpse' of the central powers?
 
Say the defeat against Prussia forces Austria to reconsider things, feeling that a more central federation could bring the empire together, increasing communications, education, military matters. This could result in due course to a stronger all the states are onboard with said idea in the interest of the whole, not just Budapest and Vienna who alone had problems seeing eye to eye.

Said federation might not be subservient to Germany as well and may have carry on eff to with German unification and a French Prussian war
 
Agreed, they would have more to loose by fighting and undermining each other as a federation each nation would have an investment in seeing that the 'empire' succeeds!
But wouldn't Emperor Franz Josef I be too conservative to see this happen and push through reforms of this nature, could you imagine Disraeli or Lord Derby trying to convince Victoria that a commonwealth is the way forward (different circumstances I admit but it's still asking a lot of a monarch!).
 
I was reading the other thread regarding the name in a no-WW1 situation. Most people take the route of saving the Habsburg monarchy via a Danubian federation or something of that nature. What if it were taken to the opposite extreme - could a situation like OTL British Commonwealth be possible wherein you have 4-6+ completely independent and separate Eastern/Southern European countries with the same monarch?
This would mean AH would dissolve quicker
 
I'm not really looking for AH surviving or the Danubian Federation under reforms. What I had in mind would be something more like a post WW1 situation wherein Karl/Otto manage to become Archduke of Austria and King of Hungary but with them remaining otherwise seperate.
 
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