1Since the beginning of the Second Austrian Republic, cultural and public diplomacy played a central part in positioning Austria in an international context and in rebuilding reputation after the Second World War. The conscious decision to communicate internationally Austrian culture and heritage (including natural landscape) became a part of national identity building and complemented Austria’s status of neutrality after 1955.1 This priority agenda was upheld throughout the time of the Cold War, but in the 1970s the idea of a modern globally orientated Austria was added and in the 1980s the emphasis shifted from presenting Austria in the West2 towards a cautious re-evaluation of cultural and mental contacts with Central and Eastern Europe. But only the end of the Cold War brought a fundamental change to the scope, direction and dimension of Austria’s possibilities to project the self-understanding and the image of the country internationally.

The New Position in Central Europe

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