Austria - Still the Second Republic or Already the Third?
In: Politicka misao, Band 37, Heft 5, S. 116-121
For a long time Austria's political system erected after WWII -- the Second Republic -- looked like the perfect embodiment of first highly unlikely but in the end successful democratization. From a current perspective was it a real success story & can it today serve as a model for other states aiming at democratic consolidation? Austria was a success story (though with some dark sides & 'Lebenslugen') but this was due to nonreproducible beneficial external conditions & Austria's geopolitical position. It can definitely not serve as a model case under different & unprecedented conditions. Moreover, some of its earlier advantages & the inability to come to terms with it in a changed political environment are haunting Austria today. Besides problems like globalization, it is upon those flaws that a rightist populist political force like the FPO can mobilize mass support & win elections. Adapted from the source document.