A magyar nemzeti érdekek első világháború alatti érvényesítésének lehetőségei és vaskos korlátai

István Tisza, along with most of the Hungarian political elite was well aware that the country would inevitably suffer damage in the war. In case of a victory, it would have to put up with even more foreign nationals, and upon defeat the empire would fall apart. This was the reason why he first opposed entering the war. Then, gradually he realized that war was inevitable, partly because of the structure of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and partly because of the subjugated role of the Monarchy to the German Empire. István Tisza knew that Hungary needed the alliance with Austria, because without that it would not have been able to maintain its favourable position in world politics. According to the mainstream of Hungarian history, it is a mistake to nominate the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 as the cause of the downfall of 1918. István Tisza was assassinated in 1918. His last words were: "things were meant to happen this way". The historian might add: after the previous events were things meant to happen that way. However, many things shouldnít have happened as they finally did. The author of the study puts the blame on István Tisza, stating that his politics did not allow alternative political powers to gain strength in Hungary. It is well known that the Entente powers decided to break up the Monarchy -- and along with it, Saint Stephen´s Hungary -- only in the summer of 1918, so there would have been time for the country to prepare for its fate. However, in the autumn of 1918, when - among several nations - Hungarians started to create the fundaments of an independent state, their capacity to defend Hungarian interests was negligible compared to that of the Czechs, Romans and Serbs, the other negotiating parties in Paris. After a lost war, Saint Stephen´s Hungary was inevitably doomed. However, fate could have been somewhat less tragic. For the subsequent events, the state of the civil democratic revolution of 1918 can partly be held accountable. But the main responsibility lies with István Tisza´s Hungary, and the government in power from August 1919.