Question

How did the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary function?

Answer 1

Hint: Austria-Hungary or the Dual Monarchy was a constitutional power in Central Europe. It was established by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 after the Austro-Prussian war and was dissolved after its defeat in the First World War.

Complete answer:
The Austrian Empire got weakened as a result of its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and this prompted the Austrian emperor to seek support from Hungary to govern the weak Habsburg region. Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was a result of this by which the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy got established.
Austria-Hungary (1867 to 1918) was a great power and union between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary. It also controlled the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the Balkan region. The Austrian and Hungarian states were equal in power. Foreign and defence policies were common among both whereas the governmental faculties were divided between both states. In the dual monarchy, both states had their own independent government, constitution and parliament.
Austria and Hungary, both had independent legislative bodies. Austria’s parliament was known as the Imperial Council while Hungary’s parliament was known as the National Assembly.
A common Ministerial Council composed of the prime ministers of both states, the ministers heading the common ministries and the emperor-king was maintained by Austria and Hungary.
The Dual Monarchy also maintained a Common Army along with a common Imperial and Royal Navy.

Note: Though several internal social contradictions resulted in the dissolution of Austria-Hungary monarchy, World War I, the 1918 crop failure and the economic crisis are the major causes of its dissolution. It was on 17 October 1918, the Hungarian Parliament terminated the union with Austria and declared its independence.