The paradoxical republic : Austria, 1945-2020

From its emergence out of the ashes of World War II through to the economic and political challenges of today, Austria has embodied many of the contradictions of recent European history. Written by one of the nation’s leading historians, this account of postwar Austria explores the tensions that have defined it for over seven decades, whether in its overlapping policies of engagement and isolationism, its grandiose visions and persistent sense of inferiority, or its position as a model social democracy that has suffered recurrent bouts of xenophobic nationalism. This newly revised edition also addresses the major developments since 2005, including a resurgent far right, economic instability, and the potential fracturing of the European Union. Contents Abbreviations Preface Chapter 1 Austrian Identity: Between National Pride, Solipsism and European Patriotism Chapter 2 Peculiarities of Austrian Democracy Chapter 3 ‘Austria Can Beat Everything, If It Only Wants To’: Myth and Reality of Austrian Economic Policy since 1945 Chapter 4 Fourteen Chancellors, and One Woman Chapter 5 Austria’s Media as a Political Test Lab: The Newspaper Tycoons of the Second Republic Chapter 6 Neutrality and the State Treaty in a New Europe Chapter 7 ‘Alles Walzer...’: The Politics of Art and Culture as the Early Second Republic’s Elixir of Life Chapter 8 The Austrian Model of the Welfare State and Intergenerational and Intergender Contracts since 1945 Chapter 9 The Shadow of the Past Chapter 10 Austria’s Political Future: Some Trends Bibliography Name Index