On State, Society and Mobilization in Europe During the First World War

This is one of those edited collections that come out of a thematic topic. Essentially, the authors collectively examine the way that “mobilization” (mostly military, although there is a bit of material on the home front) exhibited itself in a variety of different political systems. The French and British seem to have had the best luck with it, as popular support as better represented in government than in other states, while the German and Italian cases were a bit more authoritarian and, as a result, allowed the “stabbed in the back by civilians” narrative to take hold after the war.

Unfortunately, eastern Europe is mostly neglected. There is only one study here of the Habsburg Empire, although the editor recognizes the lack of inclusion of Russia. Much of this is due to the story of the Russian Revolution eclipsing World War I history in that country. This makes sense, but the authoritarianism of the Russian state (where virtually all power was held by the Tsar and his generals in the years after 1905) seems like it’d be interesting to contrast with the German and liberal cases. Yet, there is hardly any mention of the Ottoman Empire at all, outside a brief mention of the Armenian Genocide (as an example of the “enemy within” narrative that took hold during the war years) in the introduction. Although atypical, the tensions between Ottoman constitutionalism and authoritarianism would make it a fascinating case study on mobilization.