The Habsburg Empire's grand strategy for outmaneuvering and outlasting stronger rivals in a complicated geopolitical world
The Empire of Habsburg Austria faced more enemies than any other European great power. Flanked on four sides by rivals, it possessed few of the advantages that explain successful empires. Yet somehow Austria endured, outlasting Ottoman sieges, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon. A. Wess Mitchell tells the story of how this cash-strapped, polyglot empire survived for centuries in Europe's most dangerous neighborhood without succumbing to the pressures of multisided warfare. He shows how the Habsburgs played the long game in geopolitics, corralling friend and foe alike into voluntarily managing the empire's lengthy frontiers and extending a benign hegemony across the turbulent lands of middle Europe. The Grand Strategy of the Habsburg Empire offers lessons on how to navigate a messy geopolitical map, stand firm without the advantage of military predominance, and prevail against multiple rivals.



![Manchan, Magan IRISH INTEREST Magan Manchan: Listen to the Land Speak [2022] hardback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/manchan-magan-magan-manchan-listen-to-the-land-speak-2022-hardback-57197364117843_{width}x.jpg?v=1743077146)

![Magan, Manchan & Megan Luddy DELETE New Manchan Magan: Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) [2025]](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/magan-manchan-megan-luddy-manchan-magan-ninety-nine-words-for-rain-and-one-for-sun-2025-9781804583340-1189657813_{width}x.jpg?v=1756321518)
![Magan, Manchan IRISH INTEREST Manchan Magan: THIRTY TWO WORDS FOR FIELD [2020] hardback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/magan-manchan-manchan-magan-thirty-two-words-for-field-2020-hardback-1127071064_{width}x.jpg?v=1738876983)
![Niland, Conor SPORT Conor Niland: The Racket [2024] paperback](http://chaptersbookstore.com/cdn/shop/files/niland-conor-conor-niland-the-racket-2024-paperback-58820653515091_{width}x.jpg?v=1760353359)