Redefining Fiumians: Flag Usage and the Ambiguities of the Nation-Building Process in the Former Habsburg-Hungarian corpus separatum, 1914–1924

Jeličić, Gábor (2022) Redefining Fiumians: Flag Usage and the Ambiguities of the Nation-Building Process in the Former Habsburg-Hungarian corpus separatum, 1914–1924. Contemporary European History, 2 (1). pp. 237-246. ISSN 0960-7773

Preview

Text Final_version_Fiumian_flag_2022.pdf Download (759kB) | Preview

Abstract

In the late Habsburg period, Fiume's municipal flag became the representative symbol of local patriotism. This article argues that local patriotism in Fiume was a form of identification that combined features of modern nationalism with loyalties to the Habsburg Empire. With the disappearance of the Dual Monarchy and the subsequent transition period (1918—1924) the Fiumian flag was redefined and contested both as a symbol of Italian irredentism realized through annexation and of Fiume's independence by local autonomists. Thus, the article demonstrates how local patriotism survived the Empire's dissolution and how attachment to a locality was a significant feature of European political life in general during that period.

Actions (login required)

Edit Item