C. A. Macartney and Central Europe

C. A. Macartney (1895–1978) was a British historian with a life‐long interest in the history and politics of the peoples of East‐Central Europe and in particular, those of Hungary. He combined historical research with an advisory role in various policy‐making bodies. Macartney had little faith in the system of small nation states that resulted from the break‐up of the Austro‐Hungarian Monarchy. He called attention to the fact that the principle of self‐determination was applied unevenly by the peacemakers in Paris, and that the new states were unstable and thus consequently unable to resist pressures from Germany and Russia. While always forthright, Macartney was also often controversial. He became a proponent of various Hungarian interests and causes in Britain, a standpoint difficult to maintain during and immediately after World War II. Yet Macartney was not simply an appeaser. For him, the solution to the problems of the Danube Basin lay in the gradual eradication of overlapping nationalisms and the establishment of a supra‐national economic and political structure for the benefit of all the peoples concerned. His scholarly works conform to the highest standards of academic professionalism, and are to this day often the only source in English on the particular subject.