A Good Example of Peaceful Coexistence?: The Soviet Union, Austria, and Neutrality, 1955-1991 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9783700168980)

This monograph, based on newly declassified sources from Western and Russian archives as well as on communist texts about international law and neutrality, is the first English-language account of Soviet policy towards neutral yet capitalist Austria during the Cold War. In order to make neutrality a model for the West, the Kremlin presented the unique Soviet-Austrian relationship as a good example of peaceful coexistence and a showcase for the benefits a Western state might reap by declaring neutrality. This honor, however, had strings attached: The communist doctrine of neutrality contained obligations that were expected to make it possible to exploit neutral states as instruments of Soviet policy and bring them nearer the socialist bloc. While Austrian leaders were careful to avoid these pitfalls, Soviet interventions in Hungary and Czechoslovakia in 1956 and 1968 and interference into Austria's interpretation of neutral policy could not but deeply affect Austrian policy and the Soviet-Austrian honeymoon.

Author: Wolfgang Muller
ISBN-10: 3700168985
ISBN-13: 9783700168980
Publisher: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
Language: English
Published: 02/03/2011
Pages: 381
Format: Paperback