Inbetween Identity and Entrepreneurs in Slovenia in the Austro-Hungarian Era

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51663/pnz.65.2.02

Keywords:

Inbetween identity, Economic nationalism, Slovenian economy, Austria-Hungary

Abstract

The article discusses inbetween identities in the economic context, as they appeared in Slovenia during the Austro-Hungarian period. Although the ideology of economic nationalism, which exclusively protected the interests of one national community over the rest and was symbolized by the motto "each to their own", dominated at the time, some entrepreneurs tried to maintain an intermediate, i.e. non- or supranational identity for various reasons. Certain entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial families were quite successsful in maintaining an inbetween identity in the long term, if they were moderate in their political views and offered quality service to their customers. Others pushed any national declaration into the background, either due to disinterest or to making possible more business opportunities. There were also examples of families in which members cultivated conflicting national identities. 

Author Biography

  • Ivan Smiljanić, Inštitut za novejšo zgodovino

    Ivan Smiljanić has graduated from history and Russian studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, in 2016 and acquired a MSc in history at the same university in 2019. In the same year, he became a junior researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History in Ljubljana. The topic of his dissertation is bankruptcies in Slovenia between 1868 and 1941. He is publishing articles on monuments, public memory nd economic hitsory in Slovene history magazines. He coauthored a comic book on the burning of Trieste National Hall (2020) and published a book on the cult of poet France Prešeren in socialist Yugoslavia (2021).

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Published

2025-10-24

Issue

Vol. 65 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Žarko Lazarević, Ivan Smiljanić

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