Stronger Austria-Hungary ?

Why was austria-hungary so weak, compared with Germany or other superpowers ? How woul a Pod with an stronger A-H comparable to the german empire look like ? Would a Pod before 1900 be necessary ?
 
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And Austria-Hungary was weak because it was a dynastic entity in the era of nation-states, and half it's country was run by a bunch of aristocrats determined to pretend it was still the eighteenth century.
 

Devvy

Donor
As I understand it, the problem is Hungary - as mentioned above it's run by aristocrats who have no intention of going anywhere remotely near democratic reforms.

If it has to be a POD post-1900 (as this thread is in this forum!), then I suggest you need to a POD which either smashes the Magyar elite, allows popular reform in Hungary and thus stops sabotaging the Austro-Hungarian common agreement at every turn.

Or a POD where Hungary is set free of Austria-Hungary, thereby letting the Austrian side reform, unhindered and un-held back by the Hungarian side. The Austrians are then free to reform the remaining Austrian Empire into a (likely) more federal state, better armed forces, better inter-racial relations, etc etc.
 
Ok so assuming that the Hungarian elite gets smashed or atleast isn't as stubborn as in the OTL. How would this affect the Austro-Hungarian Army, Airforce and Navy could it be comparable to the strenght of the German Empire, or perhaps a bit weaker ?
 
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Ok so assuming that the Hungarian elite gets smashed.. How would this affect the Austro-Hungarian Army, Airforce and Navy could it be comparable to the strenght of the German Empire, or perhaps a bit weaker ?

Depends on when it happens. Breaking the Hungarian aristocracy would have massive effects on the Empire, even in the short term, let alone the long term. There's also the question of what happens after, which direction the Empire takes would be just as important in determining what happens later.

If it happens early enough, you could see Austria's economy grow even more (OTL, IIRC, it was second to Russia with regards to economic growth).

The Army would certainly be stronger and better equipped. Not Germany, to be sure, A-H had neither the population or economy to maintain an army on Germany's level ... and it wasn't nearly as focused on quality and discipline as Germany was, but much better than OTL and with a lot fewer issues.

The Navy and the Air Force, you're pretty much looking at OTL developments. Aside from Hungarian wrangling over authorizing funds the navy was never really the focus (the air force, what air force?). There wouldn't be a dreadnought slipway in Fiume and it's possible that what would've been the Szent Istvan (IIRC, the proposed name was Don Juan d'Austria) would be operational earlier, giving the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine 4 dreadnoughts at the start of the war ... not that it would affect things, the navy would still be dwarfed by the British Mediterranean Squadron and the French Marine Nationale.
 

Devvy

Donor
Quite - the navy is never going to be a prime concern for a country who has a tiny coastline hidden away in the Adriatic, and the air force is non existent. The army stands a reasonable chance of being better, but as Kev says, it's never going to match the strength of the Germans.

Maybe a reasonable hope is for them to have the capacity and ability to knock Serbia out quickly before turning to face down Russia alongside Germany..
 
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