In addition to the fifteenth anniversary of the founding of the Schumpeter Program at Harvard University, 2005 also marked the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, refounding the Austrian state after the Second World War, and the tenth anniversary of Austria's entry into the European Union. Long near the geographic center of Europe, Austria is now near the geographic center of the EU and, from January 2006, Austria will hold the presidency of the European Union.

     Like the other nations of Europe, however, Austria faces challenges in the spheres of politics, political economy, and transnational relations. Political dealignment has given rise to new parties on the edges of the traditional political spectrum. An aging population puts fiscal pressure on a generous welfare state. The competitive pressures of globalization are stimulating adjustment in the political economy. More open borders have brought a more diverse populace. An enlarged European Union struggles to maintain its momentum amidst widespread ambivalence about its role. All the European nations face substantial political, economic and social challenges and we propose to look at Austria in comparative perspective to explore how these challenges are being met.

     Austria begins from a special position. Born of a history of political conflict, it developed a politics of accommodation often said to exemplify consociational politics. Long one of the 'small states' of Europe, it has used modes of adjustment in the political economy associated with neo-corporatism and coordinated capitalism. Given its historic geopolitical position, Austria it has long been an interlocutor between east and west, and it may now be a spokesman for small states in the European Union.

     The object of this symposium is to discuss recent developments in Austria and to explore the light they shed on the challenges facing Europe as a whole. The following questions animate this symposium. What are the principal challenges Austria now faces in the spheres of politics, the political economy, and transnational relations? How might the Austrian response to those challenges be characterized? To what extent does the Austrian response reflect new formulas that might alter our traditional understanding of Austria and of small states in Europe and the international political economy?

     Panelists will be asked to provide a brief proto-paper of 8 to 10 double-spaced pages to be circulated before the symposium.