Bosnian Muslims, East African Masai, Czech-speaking Austrians, North
American indigenous peoples, and Jewish immigrants from across
Europe--the nineteenth-century British and Habsburg Empires were
characterized by incredible cultural and racial-ethnic diversity.
Notwithstanding their many differences, both empires faced similar
administrative questions as a result: Who was excluded or admitted? What
advantages were granted to which groups? And how could diversity be
reconciled with demands for national autonomy and democratic
participation? In this pioneering study, Benno Gammerl compares Habsburg
and British approaches to governing their diverse populations, analyzing
imperial formations to reveal the legal and political conditions that
fostered heterogeneity.