The Case of Alfred Redl and the Situation of Austro-Hungarian Military Intelligence on the Eve of World War I

Leidinger, Hannes

doi:10.2307/j.ctt1n2txft.5

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The findings also inform historic research on the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As Leidinger (2014) noted, along with other scandals in civil administration and the army, Redl's betrayal contributed to the picture of a crumbling, moribund Danube Monarchy. The findings of the present study add a further facet to the historical perspective by showing that Redl possibly contributed to many deaths not only because of his spying -between 1907 and 1913 he betrayed significant numbers of classified orders of battle, fortification plans, mobilization plans, and the specific Austro-Hungarian war plans against Russia, Serbia, and Italy (Schindler, 2005) -but also because of the Werther effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Celebrity Suicide of a Pre-World War I Spy

Arendt

Mestas

2022

Crisis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Background: Alfred Redl, a colonel in the Imperial and Royal General Staff and Deputy Director of Military Intelligence for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a leading figure of pre-World War I spying. The "spy of the century," as he has been called, died by suicide in Vienna on May 25, 1913. It was a big news story based on espionage, sex, and betrayal. Aim: We aimed to test whether this celebrity suicide elicited an increase in suicides – a phenomenon consistent with the "Werther effect." Method: Given daily suicide numbers were not available, we conducted archival research. Civil death registers for the city of Vienna were used to identify suicides before and after Redl's suicide. Results: The analysis indicated that more people died by suicide in the immediate aftermath and that the quantity of news reporting on Colonel Redl predicted the number of suicides per day – a pattern that is consistent with the Werther effect. Limitations: Causal interpretations are limited. Conclusion: Given the fact that the "Redl affair" is relevant for many scientific disciplines, we discuss multiple contributions to suicide research, history, media research, and research on intelligence and counter-intelligence.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Colonel Redl was a leading figure of pre-World War I spying and acted as a double agent (Leidinger, 2014). He died by suicide in the small hours of Sunday, May 25, 1913.…”

Section: The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Celebrity Suicide of a Pre-World War I Spy

Arendt

Mestas

2022

Crisis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The Case of Alfred Redl and the Situation of Austro-Hungarian Military Intelligence on the Eve of World War I

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

Celebrity Suicide of a Pre-World War I Spy

Celebrity Suicide of a Pre-World War I Spy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About