The peace treaties of Saint-Germain and Trianon sealed the
disintegration of the Habsburg Monarchy into seven successor states
under international law. Due to the ethnically mixed settlement
structures of Austria-Hungary, the application of the right of
self-determination led to multiple demarcation conflicts between the new
nation-states. When the Allied Powers started the Paris Peace Conference
in January 1919, the negotiations were influenced by the unsettled
atmosphere in East Central Europe, which was suffering from an acute
shortage of food and coal. Applying different political, strategic and
economic principles, the peace treaties with Austria and Hungary were
more vindictive than the one with Germany.