This book analyzes the conduct of press policy in Bohemia from the
Revolutions of 1848 through the period of the Tábory, 1867-71. In the
aftermath of the revolutions, the Habsburg state, far from constituting
an historical relic, proved itself boldly innovative, inaugurating
liberal reforms, most importantly the rule of law. While the reforms
helped it to survive its immediate challenges, they nonetheless, quite
paradoxically, created an environment in which the periodical press
continued to advance perspectives emblematic of the revolution, even
during the era of Neoabsolutism. This new legal environment fostered the
rise of the bourgeois public sphere, as theorized by Jürgen Habermas,
and the very political movements that would contribute to its demise, as
signaled in the Tábory campaign of 1867-71. At the nexus of civil
society and the state stood the provincial Habsburg officials
responsible for public order and security. Their experience was one of
endeavoring to balance the ideals of the rule of law imposed by the
Imperial center and their own vital concerns regarding the survival of
the Monarchy. This work, for the first time, concentrates on the role of
these officials who determined what would--and would not--appear in
print.