Suchergebnisse

The German term `Mitteleuropa' was coined to designate Central Europe at the time when the Habsburg monarchy exercised its domination over the Danube area and when the Eastern borders of the Reich proclaimed in 1871 were formed, thus from the end of the eighteenth century to the end of the First World War. Mitteleuropa constitutes an ambivalent `lieu de mémoire', a notion in which Central Europe has invested its memory of the past and its identity: such a notion is negative when it brings to mind the mental map of German imperialism both exploited and perverted in the Third Reich; it is positive when it is interpreted as a federative idea, opening supranational perspectives associating the countries of German culture with Slavic peoples — the Hungarians, the Romanians — and with the Jews. Since the formation of the `Habsburg myth' as a retrospective utopia of a defunct harmony of nationalities in the `third Europe' situated between Western Europe and the Russian world, the Austrian tradition has become the focus of the new notion of `Zentraleuropa', prefiguring Central European union.

Takes a French perspective to assess the lessons learned from the controversial "blue-black" conservative coalition government. The French government felt the Freedom Party's access to the government of an EU-member state was contrary to the values underlying European integration & French "Republicanism." It is argued that the conflict generated by Austria's "black-blue" coalition reflects discrepancies between the foreign view of Austria & debates occurring in that country, as well as confused French perceptions of Austria, & lack of a common understanding of a European value system. The influence on French perceptions of the debate within France about its own culture is explored. It is argued that the propagation of "symbolic fascism & Nazism" by the national-populist trend in Austria represents a betrayal of the Austrian cultural/political identity that has been formulated since 1945, & a challenge to French sensitivities. Prospects for the end of the Austria's coalition system & the reestablishment of democratic debate are discussed. 5 References. J. Lindroth