Introduction: The Peasantry and Political Participation in Central and Eastern Europe (1848–1939)

This volume explores patterns of national integration and mobilization of the peasantry across two historical regions,Central and Eastern Europe, and over a long historical timeframe, spanning from the 1848 Revolution to the outbreak of World War Two. The introduction sets out the conceptual framework and comparative rationale of the volume, organized around three key concepts: national integration, political mobilization, and citizenship. We argue that the national integration of the peasantry should be approached as a relational process, involving complex interactions between various state actors, local intermediaries such as teachers and priests, and the broader rural population. Moreover, as a multifaceted and dynamic process, national integration is neither linear nor fully completed, being characterized by lasting tensions between inclusion and exclusion within modern state-building projects. To study these complex and variegated processes, historians need to mobilize, in a creative manner, a vast array of primary sources, ranging from official sources and statistics to the voices of peasants themselves. We hope that the comparative perspectives advanced in this volume highlight regional and national differences, revealing how diverse political cultures and historical path dependencies influenced the success and limitations of integrating the peasantry into modern nation-states.