ABSTRACT
This essay explores the impact of the wave of socio-political and national revolutions that occurred in East Central Europe at the end of the First World War. As centuries-old empires imploded, spaces emerged for a whole range of political movements demanding radical change. Some sought to build nation-states in the formerly imperial territories of East Central Europe, while others saw a unique opportunity to push for democratic, socialist or even communist regime changes. Often these ambitions clashed with each other in violent ways, as inter-state wars as well as civil wars followed the official end of hostilities on the Western front in November 1918.
