Lecture details:
This lecture will engage with the theory and practice of the Austrian neutrality concept in light of the contemporary international setting. Since its inception in 1955, the concept of neutrality appears to exist in a challenging realm, positioned ambiguously between serving as a model and transitioning into a phase-out model. In this context, this lecture will lean into the Austrian experience with neutrality to examine possible options for the European and transatlantic security architecture. Applying a critical approach, both the potential as well as the limitations of the legal and political notions underlying the concept of neutrality will thus be investigated. Particular emphasis in this context will be devoted to the Ukrainian context amidst the ongoing Russian act of aggression. What is more, it will be explored how the war on Ukraine has reinvigorated the political debate concerning neutrality in Austrian domestic politics.
Further information on the event (including the corresponding Zoom link) can be found at: Benedikt C. Harzl | Austria’s Permanent Neutrality in European and Transatlantic Context(s) / Events at UC Berkeley