National Identities in Times of Supra-National Challenges : The Debates on NATO and Neutrality in Austria and Hungary

After the end of the Cold War, vigorous discussions developed about new alternatives in security policy in almost all the countries of the former Warsaw Pact & in neutral & non-aligned states, including Austria & Hungary. The comparison of the debates in Austria & Hungary over the last 50 years, focusing on presidential speeches on the one hand & on opinion polls on the other (among many other data sources), shed light on the identity policy aspect of these discourses. The argumentation strategies used by the supporters & by the opponents of different security policies were analyzed, illustrating the fact that in Austria, neutrality is still perceived as an integral part of national identity, whereas in Hungary, joining NATO is viewed as a possibility of finally "belonging" to the West. 5 Tables, 3 Figures, 34 References. Adapted from the source document.