Neutrality, European Community and World Peace: The Case of Austria

In a rejoinder to Bill McSweeney (JPR 3/88) it is argued that from a peace-political perspective, Ireland cannot serve as a model for the 'Euro-neutrals' (Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland). This is particularly true with regard to Austria, which is planning to enter into negotiations with the European Community (EC) on possible membership in the EC in order to meet the challenges presented by the Community's plans for a 'frontier-free' internal market by 1992. Any discussion about membership of neutral states in the EC should also include the general 'international' context of the political order in postwar Europe as well as the 'intra-national' dimensions of a country's specific history and identity. At this time, a unilateral accession of Austria to the EC would both undermine the credibility of Austria's 'positive neutrality policy' and the possibility of a joint, coherent, and effective policy of all the continental European neutrals.