monarchies and world wars

Mrstrategy

Banned
why did the two world wars cause the collapse of most of the monarchies in Europe

    1. Austria-Hungary
    2. Germany
    3. Russia
    4. Romania
    5. Italy
    6. Bulgaria
    7. Greece
    8. Yugoslavia
    9. albania
 
Because the monarchs were personally responsible in a greater or lesser degree for the defeats and horrendous aftermaths. In a democracy you can give the leader the arse and install someone else either by Parliamentary process or election, but when the leader was installed there by the grace of God centuries ago that option isn't available. That said the overthrow of the Monarchy wasn't the only option, in Russia perhaps the Kerensky governemtn could have sued for peace and as such the monarchy might have survived. In Germany there was a very late war proposal for constitutional change that would make Germany a monarchy along the lines of Britain, which would have saved the monarchy.
 
That said the overthrow of the Monarchy wasn't the only option, in Russia perhaps the Kerensky governemtn could have sued for peace and as such the monarchy might have survived. In Germany there was a very late war proposal for constitutional change that would make Germany a monarchy along the lines of Britain, which would have saved the monarchy.

Kerensky was the head of the Russian Republic, the Tsar had already abdicated. Peace might have saved the monarch, but it wouldn't have saved the monarchy.

Its also worth mentioning out that in almost half these cases (Albania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania) the governments were transformed along socialist lines post WWII. Socialism wasn't big on monarchies, and so they were done away with.
 
The First World War had due it's destructive and need for resources either accelerated or created severe social problems in Russia,Germany, and Austria-Hungary. Bulgaria,Yugoslavia,Romania, and Albania were either invaded in the case of Yugoslavia and Albania or "liberated by the Soviets who didn't care for them. Italy it was more the monarchy felt they had to back the fascists, and well look were it got them all thing considered.
 
Austria-Hungry spent so centuries meddling in the Holy Roman Empire that it never looked inwards at the cultural and ethnic divisions within. By 1918 Divine Right wasn't enough to hold back the changes made by the grievous loss of life and the sweeping Nationalism.

Maybe with a POD back during the War of Austria Succession, where Austria permanently loses control of the HRE, and decides that they are going withdraw Austria from the Empire to make their own bigger cooler clubhouse. Then spend the next three hundred years unifying their lands both culturally and linguistical, Slowly creating an Austrian Nation that has its own language(German with a Slavic flavor/loan words) and customs. While it would be completely ASB for all of the Austrian Empire to become united culturally, The Hungarians would never stand for it, its not too outrageous for a cultural melding between Austria, Bohemia, Carinthia(Slovenia) and perhaps Croatia.

Eventually Nationalism or some dumb war would have torn the empire apart but the division might not have been so severe
 
WWII was so diasastrous for monarchies because it led to the rise of the Soviet Union, a decidedly Republican state. Basically, if you were an east European monarchy conquered by the Nazis, now is probably a good time to inquire about exile.
 
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