Is it time to finally rethink Austria’s “permanent neutrality”?
Austria’s longstanding tradition of permanent neutrality is an integral part of the country’s identity and its approach to international politics. However, the flimsy and incoherent interpretation of it not only demonstrates that there is little consensus on how its neutrality policy should be exercised but also makes it a useful smokescreen to justify politicians’ behaviour and connections to certain states, such as Russia. As Sweden and Finland are giving up their neutrality to join NATO, some argue, it is time to rethink Austria’s neutrality too and finally develop a coherent neutrality policy.
Weekly News Briefing #1
Ukraine As we entered the eighth week of the Russian war on Ukraine, Russia, after it failed to capture Kyiv and hence withdrew from its…
It’s not NATO threatening Russia – Democracy is
The claim that Putin feels threatened by NATO is not only the key argument of political scientist Mearsheimer and it has also been picked up and replicated by Russian propaganda. However, various scholars and experts on the region disagree with this notion of NATO threatening Russia. Instead, some argue, it is democracy that poses a threat to Putin and his regime and that fear of flourishing democracy in Russia’s neighbourhood is part of the explanation for the Russian invasion in 2014 and 2022.
