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The Nation, the Provinces, and the Republic: Recent Writings on Postwar Austrian Identities

DURING THE PAST decade, Austrians seemed to have numerous reasons for looking back on their historical experience. Even before the approach of a new millennium put much of Western society into an introspective mood, the inhabitants of the small Alpine republic were confronted with historically significant dates and jubilees. In 1995, the Second Republic completed its initial half century, and in the following year, Austrians commemorated the first documented reference to the region called Ostarrichi in 996. The Austrian media inundated the population with historical images, and the scholarly community did not want to stand aside. More than a few older studies were spruced up and republished for the occasion, but a number of interesting new titles hit the market as well. This review article examines ten recent publications that highlight and analyze postwar Austrian identities. The term identity, which has established itself firmly in both scholarly and popular language over the past decades, is defined by the dictionary, inter alia, as the condition of being oneself and not another and as the sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality. In this article, the term is used in a broad sense that draws on both these meanings; it refers to a popular sense of self as well as to the fundamental nature and essence of a polity. At the same time, the identities examined are not centered exclusively on the nation but range from the regional via different forms of the national all the way to the European and the global. At its core, the article concentrates on the three frames of reference that stood