Natasha Wheatley – Mitteleuropa und die Geburt der modernen Souveränität

With her widely acclaimed book “The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty” (Princeton University Press, 2023), American historian Natasha Wheatley has upended our understanding of the Habsburg Empire’s dissolution.

At the Vienna Humanities Festival, she will elaborate on the main insights from that study. Her profound exploration of how the Habsburg Empire’s complex legal and political landscape influenced modern concepts of statehood and sovereignty shows how the dissolution of the Habsburg Empire created a precedent for newly formed states to claim legitimacy based on historical sovereignty.

Wheatley traces how these legal arguments resonated beyond Central Europe, informing decolonization efforts and the emergence of new nations in the mid-20th century.

The lecture by Nathasha Wheatley will be held in English. It will be followed by a conversation with Matti Bunzl of the Wien Museum.

Natasha Wheatley is a scholar of modern European and international history, with interests in intellectual and legal history, Central Europe, and international law. Currently an assistant professor of history at Princeton University, Wheatley is the co-editor of “Remaking Central Europe: The League of Nations and the Former Habsburg Lands and Power and Time: Temporalities in Conflict and the Making of History”. Her latest book is “The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty” (2025).

The Vienna Humanities Festival was launched in 2016 by the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), the European debate network “Time to Talk” (TTT), and the Wien Museum.

Since then, it has become one of the annual highlights of Vienna’s cultural scene. Under the motto ON EDGE / UNBEHAGEN, this year’s edition—taking place during the last weekend of September—will once again bring together some of the world’s most innovative thinkers to explore the political, ecological, technological, economic, artistic, and philosophical issues of our time.

More information along with the full program can be found at www.humanitiesfestival.at.

Photo:  Natasha Wheatley © Nina Subin

Note: Registration required. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Duration: Approximately 90 minutes
Cost: Free
Meeting point: In the event hall, 3rd floor