How was the Austrian Empire’s approach to Nationalism different?

Question

anonymous · Answer

The Austrian Empire was made up of a number of nationalities merged into one state. So, for example, when Serbian Slavs voiced their need for independence, it threatened to break part of the empire off and weaken the authority of the throne. If more groups voiced the same nationalistic tendencies, there would literally be no empire left. The Austrian empire did its best to quell nationalistic tendencies amongst its people, but couldn't quite eliminate it as an idea.

In contrast, Germany ultimately united itself in the late 19th century from the many separate and independent states that made it up. In its case, nationalistic tendencies galvanized the underlying movement to bring together all of these German states into one nation.