Abstract - Serhiy Choliy, War as a Model of Population Movement in the Modern World. The Galician Perspecitves in the First World War
Abstract
Twentieth century demonstrated previously unseen examples of internal policies. Innovative approaches in forms and methods of policy became widespread in totally different areas, beginning from organized people mass destructions, and up to creation of social state. WWI, as many other wars of the Twentieth century, was a big polygon of implementation of new technologies and forms of internal policy.
In my article I wish to analyze the main principles of modern policy in sphere of organized population movement: deportations and resettlements. Such actions, firstly experienced by state mechanisms during the wartime, become widespread in the politics of the Twentieth century.
Galicia, on the eve of WWI – borderland between Austria-Hungary and Russia – was a front-line area of the Eastern front. The front line wasn’t static here during the war, and different parts of Galicia often changed their jurisdiction from Austrian to Russian and vice versa. Both these regimes tried to use local population for its own needs and to punish opposition. Organized migrations were one of the instruments of such policy. Thus, Galicia could be a good example of modern population movement techniques. A number of key processes in this area are discussed in subsequent parts of the essay. The most important are soldier’s mobilizations, internment of suspected civil population, including the creation of first concentration camps, deportations of social or national groups, organized and spontaneous resettlement of refugees, deployment of prisoners of war.
The analysis of the Galician situation is essential in European perspective firstly because both Austria-Hungary and Russia used similar approaches to population movement, just addressing it to different strata of society; secondly because mass population movement policy was tested in a multinational society during wartime. After the end of WWI it became widespread all over Europe.
Keywords: First World War, Galicia, displacement, European modernity, refugees
Biography
Serhiy Choliy, PhD, born 1988 in Novosilky (Kyiv region), Ukraine. From 2003 to 2008 he studied history at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine (BA and MA study). Starting from 2008 he began his doctoral study at the same university. It was combined with international research projects in European countries: associated fellowship at DK "Austrian Galicia and its Multicultural Heritage", Vienna University; IVF research fellowship at Geographical Research Institute, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest etc. 2013 he successfully defended his dissertation titled The Formation of the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces as a Component of Internal Policy of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1868-1914 and is currently a lecturer at National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Instittute" .