Austria

**Austria**, officially the **Republic of Austria**, is a state in Europe bordering Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Slovakia. Most of Austria’s terrain is covered by the Alps mountain range, with only 32% of the country below 500 meters.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries

In 1908 Austria-Hungary found an excuse in the promulgation of the Second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914 by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip was used by leading Austrian politicians and generals to persuade the emperor to declare war on Serbia, thereby risking and prompting the outbreak of World War I, which eventually led to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After the war, inflation began to devalue the Krone, which was still Austria's currency. In autumn 1922 Austria was granted an international loan supervised by the League of Nations. The purpose of the loan was to avert bankruptcy, stabilise the currency and improve Austria's general economic condition. The loan meant that Austria passed from an independent state to the control exercised by the League of Nations. In 1925 the Schilling, replacing the Krone at a rate of 10,000:1, was introduced. Later it was called the Alpine dollar due to its stability. From 1925 to 1929 the economy enjoyed a short high before nearly crashing after Black Friday.

The First Austrian Republic lasted until 1933 when Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, using what he called "self-switch-off of Parliament" (Selbstausschaltung des Parlaments), established an autocratic regime tending toward Italian fascism. The two big parties at this time, the Social Democrats and the Conservatives, had paramilitary armies; the Social Democrats' Schutzbund was now declared illegal but still operative as civil war broke out for 4 days. On 12 March 1938, Austrian Nazis took over government, while German troops occupied the country. On 13 March 1938, the Anschluss of Austria was officially declared. Two days later Hitler (an Austrian by birth), announced what he called the "re-unification" of his home country with the "rest of Germany" on Vienna's Heldenplatz. He established a plebiscite confirming the union with Germany in April 1938.

Much like Germany, Austria was divided into British, French, Soviet and American zones and governed by the Allied Commission for Austria. As forecast in the Moscow Declaration in 1943, there was a subtle difference in the treatment of Austria by the Allies. The Austrian government, consisting of Social Democrats, Conservatives and Communists (until 1947), and residing in Vienna, which was surrounded by the Soviet zone, was recognised by the Western Allies in October 1945.

On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by the Cold War, Austria regained full independence by concluding the Austrian State Treaty with the Four Occupying Powers. On 26 October 1955, after all occupation troops had left, Austria declared its "permanent neutrality" by an act of parliament. Following a referendum in 1994, at which consent reached a majority of two-thirds, the country became a member of the European Union on 1 January 1995.

## Government and Politics

The Federal President is the head of state and elected by direct vote for a six-year term renewable once. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Chancellor who is appointed by the President. The government can be removed from office either by Presidential decree or a vote of no confidence in the lower house of Parliament.
The legislature is comprised of:

* The Lower House, the Nationalrat, whose 183 members are elected for five-year terms by party-list proportional representation.
* The Upper House, the Bundesrat, whose 61 members represent the nine state of Austria and are appointed by the state diets.

### Federal States

Austria is divided into nine states which maintain their own legislative ability. These states are:

* Burgenland
* Carinthia
* Lower Austria
* Salzburg
* Styria
* Tyrol
* Upper Austria
* Vienna
* Vorarlberg

### Foreign Relations

Austria is to remain neutral and will not join foreign military alliances or have foreign bases on her soil by acts of parliament. Since these acts, Austrian foreign policy has been based around neutrality. Despite this, Austria is a member of the European Union and is a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace.

## Economy

Austria has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics. Next to a highly developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy.

## Military

The manpower of the Austrian Armed Forces mainly relies on conscription. All males who have reached the age of eighteen and are found fit have to serve a six months compulsory military service, followed by an eight-year reserve obligation. Both males and females at the age of sixteen are eligible for voluntary service. Conscientious objection is legally acceptable and those who claim this right are obliged to serve an institutionalised nine months civilian service instead. Since 1998, women volunteers have been allowed to become professional soldiers.

Within its self-declared status of permanent neutrality, Austria has a long and proud tradition of engaging in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. The Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU), in particular, an all-volunteer unit with close ties to civilian specialists (e.g. rescue dog handlers) enjoys a reputation as a quick (standard deployment time is 10 hours) and efficient SAR unit. Currently, larger contingents of Austrian forces are deployed in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.