Contemporary Austrian Politics

Volkmar Lauber

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429720987
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Long characterized by stability--even rigidity--Austrian politics is becoming more dynamic and combative. Tracing the disruption of the "postwar pattern" in Austria, this book explores the recent dramatic evolution in Austria's political system. The contributors examine the decline of the established Social Democratic and Conservative parties and c

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History and International Context

Helmut Kramer

Introduction

At the beginning of the 1990s, on the basis of the indicators most commonly used to rank countries economically, it is clear that Austria is one of the dozen or so of the world's most prosperous countries. Austria is classified as a small state with respect to its total population, and it could be considered a middle power in the areas of art and culture (Austria has 0.14 percent of the world population, about 1 percent of world output and a 1.32 percent share of world trade).

This advantageous position, according to the dominant standards of development (Kramer 1983; Katzeristein 1984; Höll 1985), goes hand in hand with the extremely intensive interconnection between society and economic policy in the international system. As with other economically successful small states--nine of the fifteen richest countries in the world have a total population of less than 10 million--the Austrian economy is to a high degree open to world trade. More than a quarter (26 percent) of the goods produced in Austria are exported. If one adds services produced for the international market, particularly tourism, the export quota increases to 47 percent. The consequences of the rapidly increasing economic internationalization of the last decades--that is, the intensification and consolidation of international economic relations (and at the same time the increasing importance of economics in international relations) and the dependency that results from it--in many ways affect small countries more strongly and directly (Kramer 1983; Höll 1983; Jaeggi 1983). Therefore, measures to promote economic recovery, decisions on economic and social policy, foreign trade and monetary policy must be made while carefully considering international developments, the positions of the major powers and of the transnational corporations that have been pushing for economic internationalization. The costs of halting international transactions would be considerable. The latest developments in (transit) traffic, environmental policy and the question of refugees make it clear that the problems and crises in the international system at the end of the twentieth century can no longer be solved within the confines of national borders and with the policies and measures of a single state (Ziebura 1984; Zolberg 1985; Camilleri, and Falk 1992).

The foreign policy behavior of the neutral, small state Austria is significantly influenced by the high degree of sensitivity it must expect to encounter, being so intensely connected with the international system. Furthermore, the necessity of reacting to international developments and crises, but also of being aware of the different options available for taking action, considerably influence that behavior. By skillfully taking advantage of the temporary phase of reduced tension in East-West relations, Austria was able to gain its independence in 1955. As the globally-oriented active policy of neutrality unfolding in the early 1970s particularly showed, favorable conditions in world politics were the most important prerequisites for Austria's foreign policy activities. Austria attempted thereby to defend its own economic and political interests and at the same time to make, in conjunction with other small and neutral states, a (modest) contribution that would ease tensions, bring about more legal security and establish democratic norms in international relations (see chapter 6).

Until now we have spoken only in general terms of the "sensitivities" and structures of dependence that arise from the many levels of international transactions. The problem of combining external interconnection and dependence with the objectives of social self-determination and national independence is the "dilemma of small states" (Kleinstaatendilemma) (Vogel 1979; Höll 1985; Kramer 1993). Two specific features of dependence structures and constellations in Austria stand out:

1. Austria's economy shows, in comparison to most other wealthy industrial countries in the West, a much less active internationalization profile (Pichl 1989; Beirat für Wirtschafts- und Sozialfragen 1989). This is particularly true in the area of capital and technology integration. Austria is dependent to a large degree on capital imports and is permeated with foreign capital. Constitutive for the passive internationalization profile of the Austrian economy is above all, compared to other industrialized countries, the small amount of Austrian capital exports, in particular the small number of business enterprises owned by Austrians abroad. As table 1.1 shows, in the mid-1980s Austria was in this regard far below the level of the other neutral small states, i.e. Switzerland, Sweden and even Finland. However, at the end of the 1980s, as a result of the liberalization of capital and the economic opening of Eastern Europe, Austrian investment abroad increased considerably. While the total flow of such investments was only Schl9.5 billion in 1985 (compared to Sch60 billion of foreign capital investment in Austria), the total sum rose in 1992 to Sch81 billion for investments abroad (compared with Sch120 billion of foreign capital investment in Austria).

TABLE 1.1 Direct Investment Compared Internationally (1985)

	Capital resources (incl. loans) in billions of the national currency		Direct Investment as percent of GDP(in %)
	active	passive	active	passive
USA	232.7	183.0	5.80	4.56
Japan	83.6	6.2	6.31	0.47
Canada	41.7	81.8	8.97	17.59
United Kingdom	76.7	40.6	21.51	11.39
Switzerland	50.5	22.9	20.91	9.48
West Germany	147.8	119.1	8.01	6.45
France	192.2	147.2	4.10	3.71
Netherlands	143.7	58.3	34.38	13.95
Sweden	98.7	28.2	11.77	3.36
Italy	26,104.0	31,769.0	3.22	3.92
Belgium/ Luxembourg	160.7	591.7	3.17	11.69
Denmark	22.9	31.6	3.86	5.33
Spain	258.9	996.7	0.94	3.62
Austria	18.7	61.9	1.39	4.62

Source. Beirat für Wirtschafts- und Sozialfragen 1989, p. 9.

1. The second obvious feature of Austria's external interconnection is the heavy concentration of its economic dependence on Germany. In the area of direct foreign investment in Austria, Germany leads with about 40 percent. West German companies dominate the electrical, metal, automobile and chemical industries as well as trade, banking, finance and insurance. West German groups acquired decisive influence over the Austrian print media in the 1980s. Another dimension of the close integration of the two economies consists in the fact that the Austrian currency is tied to the German mark (about German influence see Kramer 1983; Scherb and Morawetz 1990; Riekhoff-Neuhold 1993).

Does this high level of economic dependence mean that the chances of achieving the basic goals and priorities of Austrian society (economic and social well-being, national self-determination) will be diminished? Does the high degree of economic and social dependency imply some kind of control from abroad? Will developments be started here that are not in the interests of or not in accordance with the moral values of the Austrian people and that will lead to the marginalization of socially and politically weaker groups? We are assuming that, in the case of Austria in the Second Republic, the negative consequences of dependent internationalization are more than compensated by a number of positive developments and social advantages. In the fifty years since the Second World War an overwhelmingly positive interaction of external and internal developments can be seen (Arndt 1982; Kramer 1983; Katzenstein 1984; Höll 1985). That structural dependence did not prevent Austria from achieving most of its basic goals will become clearer when the Second Republic is compared to the inter-war years and the last decades of the Danube Monarchy. The present chapter will attempt to make this comparison by historically analyzing Austria's incorporation into the international system and the division of labor since the middle of the nineteenth century.

An historical reconstruction in this respect, upgraded and systematized with the concepts and theorems of political science, should, however, not only include the main differences and discontinuities in Austria's development that are affected by external circumstances. The purpose of historical reflection and analysis is to "organize the past according to its function in the present" (Febvre 1988, 4). Therefore, in this description of the interaction between the external environment and the internal social development profile, an historical search for clues to the roots of the "internationalist disposition" characteristic of contemporary Austria, which includes its attitude towards the outside world, to the international system and to the values that are prevailing internationally, will also be included (on the historical foundations of "mentalities" in Austria see Lehmbruch 1967; Fürstenberg 1985).

The Habsburg Monarchy in the International Context

Economic Development and External Factors

The position of a society in the international system, its ability to secure a place in the international division of labor that guarantees or opens the way to the best possible chances for security and welfare to its population, is to a great degree determined by whether the economic and social structures, the behavioral patterns and the "mentality" of its population are in accord with the dominating tendencies of international development. A society's international position is determined by its ability to use the rules of the international (economic) system to its advantage, for its own puposes and goals. A review of the rise and fall of the great hegemonic powers in the history of Europe and the world, and above all of the structural problems of the "developing" countries in the past and the present, clearly shows how important, even how ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Tables, Figures and Graphs
• Acknowledgments
• Map of Austria
• 1 History and International Context
• 2 Political Institutions
• 3 Political Parties
• 4 Corporatism - The Austrian Model
• 5 Economic Policy
• 6 Foreign Policy
• 7 Environmental Politics and Policy
• 8 Political Culture
• 9 Agencies of Socialization
• 10 The Politics of Regional Subdivisions
• 11 Conclusion and Outlook
• Basic Statistics
• Chronology
• List of Acronyms
• Selected Bibliography
• Postscript: The Elections of 1995
• About the Contributors
• About the Book
• Index