Sekundarni povzetek: |
In the master's thesis, the author presents the attitude of British foreign policy to political problems in Carinthia in the period from the end of the First World War to the plebiscite in October 1920. For this purpose, the author analysed the unpublished primary sources kept by the British National Archives in London. He also took into account the published documents of British diplomacy and the most relevant literature. The aim was to produce a fresh perspective on the Carinthian uestion, since the previous studies do not give considerable attention to the role of Great Britain, one of the then crucial actors in the complicated design of the post-war European and world order. Immediately after the end of the First World War, the area of the Celovec Basin became controversial, since both Austria and the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs - the countries which rose from the ruins of Austria-Hungary, wanted to annex it. Until January 1919, the countries (the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs merged with the Kingdom of Serbia into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in December 1919), tried to resolve the dispute with the use of military force and negotiations. Then, in December 1919, the then global superpowers who had been at that time shaping the post-war world order at the Paris Peace Conference, decided to intervene. The superpowers concluded that the dispute over the Celovec Basin would be settled by popular vote in the form of a plebiscite. The execution of the plebiscite was entrusted to the so called International Plebiscite Commission (led by the British Colonel Sydney Capel Peck), which, in less than four months of operation, tackled a number of problems, but managed to execute the plebiscite within a specified time limit. The author notes that until April 1919 the British had paid little attention to the Carinthian question and considerable attention in the second phase. In any case they were already acquainted with the national structure of Carinthia, or rather, the Celovec basin, and at the same time with the economic situation in it and its economic potential. The British were also aware that the ethnic boundary between the German and Slovenian-speaking populations was the Drava River, but did not insist on such a demarcation. London tried to maintain a neutral attitude towards both sides, while Italy supported Austrian interests, France Yugoslav interests, and US President Wilson advocated the indivisibility of the Celovec basin. At the same time, archival material offers many new elements to better illuminate and more effectively explain the complexity of one of the key geopolitical issues of post-war Europe: how to enable Austria to have a favorable economic situation in order to live independently. The Allies wanted to prevent its union with Germany (Anschluss) and the spread of Bolshevism to it. |