Contemporary Austrian Politics

304 Pages·1996·29.712 MB·English

by  Volkmar Lauber

Contemporary
Austrian Politics

Contemporary
Austrian Politics
EDITED BY
Volkmar Lauber
First published 1996 by Westview Press, Inc.
Published 2018 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Contemporary Austrian politics I edited by Volkmar Lauber.
P· em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8133-2890-X (he)
1. Austria-Politics and government-1945- 2. Political parties-
Austria. I. Lauber, Volkmar.
JN2012.3.C66 1996
320.9430--dc20 95-50931
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-00963-2 (hbk)
Contents
Tables, Figures and Graphs ix
Acknowledgments xi
Map ofA ustria xiii
1 History and International Context
Helmut Kramer 1
Introduction, 1
Habsburg Monarchy, 5
First Republic, 10
Second Republic, 16
2 Political Institutions
WoUgang C MiiUer 23
Institutional Framework, 23
Direct Democracy, 25
Parliament, 26
Federal President, 29
Cabinet,32
Administration, 36
Constitutional Court, 39
Judiciary, 42
Audit Office, 43
Federalism, 45
Conclusion, 50
3 Political Parties
WoUgang C MiiUer 59
Introduction, 59
Origin and History, 60
v
vi Contents
Challenge to Political Parties, 63
Legal and Financial Status, 64
Electoral System, 68
Parties in the Electorate, 71
Party Organizations, 76
Ideology, 87
Party System, 90
Conclusion, 93
4 Corporatism -The Austrian Model
Emmerich Talos 103
Preconditions, 104
Development and Structure, 109
Political Role, 113
Social Partnership Since the 1980s, 117
5 Economic Policy
Volkmar Lauber 125
Introduction, 125
Establishment of Austro-Keynesianism, 127
1975-1986: Full Employment by Public Debt, 132
1987-1993: Consolidation and Restructuring, 137
Austrian Economy Today, 141
New Fiscal Crisis, 145
6 Foreign Policy
Helmut Kramer 151
Introduction, 151
World War II to State Treaty (1945-1955), 153
Foreign Policy and Neutrality (1955-1968/70), 156
Globalization (1968/70-1983/84), 162
11Realistic Foreign and Neutrality Policy11
(1983/84-1989), 169
Road to EU Membership (1989-1995), 175
Conclusion, 192
7 Environmental Politics and Policy
Volkmar Lauber 201
Contents vii
Career of the Environmental Issue, 201
Ecological Modernization of the State, 203
Environmental Situation Today, 206
Summary, 209
8 Political Culture
Peter Gerlich 213
Patterns, 213
Origins, 218
Implications, 219
9 Agencies of Socialization
Franz Homer 223
Mass Media, 223
Educational System, 226
Catholic Church, 230
10 The Politics of Regional Subdivisions
Herbert Dachs 235
Defining the Problem, 235
Historical Developments, 235
Provincial (Land) Governments, 238
Constitutional System of the Liinder, 240
"Cooperative Federal State", 242
Cooperation Among the Under, 243
Parties and Politics, 244
Changing Trends, 248
11 Conclusion and Outlook
Volkmar Lauber 253
SPO-OVP Duopoly, 253
Chai1ging Stage of Politics, 256
Basic Statistics 263
Chronology 265
List ofA cronyms 267
Selected Bibliography 271
viii Contents
Postscript: The Elections of1995 277
About the Contributors 279
About the Book 281
Index 283
Tables, Figures and Graphs
Tables
1.1 Direct Invesbnent Compared Internationally (1985) 3
1.2 Per Capita Level of Industrialization 1750-1913 6
1.3 Industrial Production Index 1929 12
1.4 Unemployment in Austria in the Inter-War Years 13
2.1 Federal Presidential Elections Since 1945 31
2.2 Austrian Cabinets Since 1945 33
3.1 Austrian Parliamentary Elections, 1945-1994 74
3.2 Party Loyalty in Elections, 1979-1994 75
3.3 Popular Disenchanbnent with Parties and Politicians, 76
1979-1989
3.4 Party Members and Organizational Density, 1945-1994 81
3.5 Motives for Joining a Party, 1%9-1985 83
3.6 The Austrian Party System, 1945-1994 91
5.1 Public Debt as Percentage of GDP 1974-1991: An 133
International Comparison
6.1 Austrian Diplomatic Missions 155
6.2 Development Aid by Country in International 168
Comparison
6.3 Interest in Foreign Policy Issues 175
6.4 Sense of Being Affected by Foreign Policy 175
6.5 Number of Persons Requesting and Number of Persons 187
Granted Official Refugee Status, 1982-1994
ix