DOI: 10.4467/20827695WSC.20.004.13332 Zoltán Hajdú Relations between Hungary and countries of the Central and Eastern European region: collapse and reorganisation, 1918–1925 1 Introduction In the period of the imperialism’s rise (1870–1914) interests internal European and non-European and were parallelly present in the policies of all major powers. In some situations, non-European interests have become a priority for one or oth- er superpower, but the real and determining interest of all European powers has been to secure their own position within Europe. e „Great War” (1914–1918) was about re-organising power relations in Europe, and as a result the redistribu- tion of colonial territories was expected. Finally, the „the civil war of Europeans” was decided by the US’ entry into the war. e Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (AHM) including the Kingdom of Hungary has never become a real colonial power. Due to its complex internal constitu- tional, political, territorial, and ethnical structures and partially to the territorial ambitions of its neighbourhood it finally landed in a „checkmate” position. Hun- gary’s only power attempt was intended towards the Balkan Peninsula. e transformation of the ethnic principle into a state shaping idea and policy (manifesting in the German and Italian unity) was a fundamental challenge to the multi-ethnic AHM. From among the neighbouring countries Italy, Romania, and Serbia equally sought for uniting their own ethnic groups in a single nation-state (and therefore they claimed significant territories of the AHM), while the nation- alities having no external motherland (like the Czechs or Yugoslavs) tried to unite within the territory of the Monarchy. e Polish settled areas divided between three empires found themselves in the most complicated situation. 1 e research has been implemented with support provided from the National Research De- velopment and Innovation Fund of Hungary (Geopolitical Processes and Imaginaries in Central Europe: States, Borders, Integration and Regional Development: NKFI K 134903). Translated by Katalin Süle.