Cisleithania; Bohemian Lands; 1848-1918; Civil Society; Municipal Self-Government; Elites in Local Societies

Until now, Czech historiography of the 19th century has tended to focused primarily on national elites (i.e. national-level political leaders), economic elites and artistic elites. However, a detailed analysis of elites at the local level in Moravia and Silesia demonstrates that a schematic interpretative framework classifying the entire population into clearly defined ethnic categories is unsustainable. In the past decade, two research projects in Moravia – each lasting three years and both financed by the Czech Science Foundation (GA ČR) – have set out to analyze the transformation of cities during the era of modernization processes in the decades prior to the First World War, with a particular focus on the role played by local elites in these processes. The study presents these two projects, their approaches, analytical tools and results.