In the past quarter century we have moved from the Cold War to the Post-Cold War era in Austria, Europe and the world at large. Yet relatively little assessment is available what the change from the Cold War to the Post-Cold War era signaled for Austria's position in the world. Austrian foreign policy went through sea changes. The country lost its exposed Cold War geopolitical location on the margins of Western Europe along the iron curtain. With the removal of the iron curtain Austria moved back into its central location in Europe and rebuilt her long-standing traditional relations with neighbors to the East and South. Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and thus further “Westernized.” Its policy of neutrality-so central to its foreign policy during the Cold War-largely eroded during the past quarter century, even though pro forma and for reasons of identity, the country holds on to its neutral position. Austrian failed to join NATO and gained the reputation of a “security free rider.”

This study provides a comprehensive examination of the East–West occupation of Austria from the end of World War II to the signing of the Austrian State Treaty in 1955. Examining US, Soviet, British, French, and Austrian sources, the authors trace the complex negotiation process that led to the signing of the treaty.

The authors' analysis sheds light on Austria's foreign policy after the Second World war and offers insights into recent developments based on many years of experience in the diplomatic service. This book describes the most important issues of the Second Republic's foreign policy in a succinct yet captivating way and provides insight into diplomatic practice. It is aimed at readers who are interested in international issues in general and Austrian foreign policy in particular and offers a highly informative and thoroughly readable overview of the developments of the past decades - from the re-establishment of the Foreign Service and Austria's role in the Cold War to the changes that have taken place since Austria's accession to the EU. The book sheds light on Austria's relations with her direct neighbouring states, the ambivalent relationship with the USA and the effects of the collapse of the USSR. The authors have written this book based on many years of experience in the diplomatic service. With their analysis they aim to contribute to a better understanding of Austria's position in an international context. They do not just direct their gaze into the past but also into the present and future of Austria's foreign policy. Above all they take into account the fundamental changes that took place at the beginning of the 21st century - changes that have brought totally new challenges for Austria.

After Stalin's death, during a respite in Cold War tensions in 1955, Austria managed to rid itself of a quadripartite occupation regime and become a neutral state. As the Cold War continued, Austria's policy of neutrality helped make this small country into an important mediator of East-West differences, and neutrality became a crucial part of Austria's postwar identity. In the post-Cold War era Austrian neutrality seems to demand redefinition. The work addresses such issues as what neutrality means when Austria's neighbors are joining NATO? What is the difference between Austrian neutrality in 1955 and 2000? In remaining apart from NATO, do Austrian elites risk their nation's national security? Is Austria a "free rider," too stingy to contribute to Western defense? Has the neutralist mentalit become such a crucial part of Austrian postwar identity that its abandonment will threaten civil society? These questions are addressed in this latest in the prestigious Contemporary Austrian Studies series. The volume emerged from the Wittgenstein Research Center project on "Discourse, Politics, and Identity," an interdisciplinary investigation of the meaning of Austrian neutrality. The first two chapters analyze the current meaning of Austrian neutrality. Karin Liebhart records narrative interviews with former presidents Rudolf Kirchschlger and Kurt Waldheim, both central political actors present at the creation and implementation of Austria's postwar neutrality. Gertraud Benke and Ruth Wodak provide in-depth analysis of a debate on Austrian National Television on "NATO and Neutrality," a microcosm of Austrian popular opinion that exposed all positions and ideological preferences on neutrality. The historian Oliver Rathkolb surveys international perceptions of Austrian neutrality over the past half-century. For comparative contrast David Irwin and John Wilson apply Foucault's theoretical framework to the history and debates on neutrality in Ireland. Political scientists Heinz Grtner and Paul Luif provide examples of how Austrian neutrality has been handled in the past and today. Michael Gehler analyzes Austria's response to the Hungarian crisis of 1956 and Klaus Eisterer reviews the Austrian legation's handling of the 1968 Czechoslovak crisis. Gnter Bischof is professor of history and executive director of Center Austria at the University of New Orleans. Anton Pelinka is professor of political science at the University of Innsbruck and director of the Institute of Conflict Research in Vienna. Ruth Wodak is professor in the linguistics department at the University of Vienna and director of the research center "Discourse, Politics, Identity" at the Austrian Academy of Science.

In 2005, Austria celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its liberation from the Nazi regime and the fiftieth anniversary of the State Treaty that ended the occupation and returned full sovereignty to the country. This volume of Contemporary Austrian Studies covers foreign policy in the twentieth century. It offers an up-to-date status report of Austria's foreign policy trajectories and diplomatic options. Eva Nowotny, the current Austrian ambassador to the United States, introduces the volume with an analysis of the art and practice of Austrian diplomacy in historical perspective. Ambassador Wolfgang Petritsch analyzes recent Balkans diplomacy as an EU emissary in the Bosnian and Kosovo crises. Historians G nther Kronenbitter, Alexander Lassner, G nter Bischof, Joanna Granville, and Martin Kofler provide historical case studies of pre-and post-World War I and World War II Austrian diplomacy, Austria's dealings with the Hungarian crisis of 1956, and its mediation between Kennedy and Khrushchev in the early 1960s. Political scientists Romain Kirt, Stefan Mayer, and Gunther Hauser analyze small states' foreign policymaking in a globalizing world, Austrian federal states' separate regional policy initiatives abroad and Austria's role vis-is current European security initiatives. Michael Gehler periodizes post-World War II Austrian foreign policy regimes and provides a valuable summary of both the available archival and printed diplomatic source collections. A "Historiography Roundtable" is dedicated to the Austrian Occupation decade. G nter Bischof reports on the state of occupation historiography; Oliver Rathkolb on the historical memory of the occupation; Michael Gehler on the context of the German question; and Wolfgang Mueller and Norman Naimark on Stalin's Cold War and Soviet policies towards Austria during those years. Review essays and book reviews on art theft, anti-Semitism, the Hungarian crisis of 1956, among other topics, complete the volume.

At the height of the first Cold War in the early 1950s, the Western powers worried that occupied Austria might become 'Europe's Korea' and feared a Communist takeover. The Soviets exploited their occupation zone for maximum reparations. American economic aid guaranteed Austria's survival and economic reconstruction. Their military assistance turned Austria into a 'secret ally' of the West. Austrian diplomacy played a vital role in securing the Austrian treaty in bilateral negotiations with Stalin's successors in the Kremlin demonstrating the leverage of the weak in the Cold War.

From the John Holmes Library collection.