Question 1) In Foreign Policy, does Austria follow the lead of France, Germany, the UK, or Spain?

Given their shared history, culture, and ethnic identity, it should come as no surprise that Austrian foreign policy has trended to mirror German foreign policy.  For much of modern history since the end of the Second World War, Austria has sought to maintain an image of neutrality in the wake of their shared participation in the Nazi War Machine (FOREIGN RELATIONS).  Hoping to strike themselves as a friendly and docile neighbor to both the Communist countries to the east and the N.A.T.O. alliance to the west.  Their attempts to strike a balance between east and west has often drawn the ire of each side who see Austria’s attempts at outreach as duplicity (Gehler, Wilson Center)Seeking to be left to their own devices, Austria has been hesitant to engage in international debates beyond those issues that might directly effect themselves.  Therefor, they’ve engaged with the European Union for the purpose of their own economic advancement while avoided being the vanguard of the integration project.  As they lack the foreign policy authority to have the authority of its larger neighbors, Austria has often gone along with German politics in areas such as engagement with Russia, the economy, and migration politics.

Germany, like Austria, has gone on the charm offensive in the last several decades to repair its image in the east and west.  Recognizing that in the event of a European land war between N.A.T.O. and the Russian Federation, they would face occupation and annihilation, Germany sought to balance the interests of the United States and Russia with its policy.  The status of Germany as a reluctant leader has meant that the German government has been less then willing to take the reigns of control and assert European policies on the international stage (Welsh, 2015).  Meanwhile, their Ostpolitik engagement with Russia has drawn the ire of other European countries who feel that German hesitancy risks enabling future threats.  This has been something they’ve had to remedy as the role of the United Kingdom and France has declined on the international stage and other regional powers have tilted towards Germany due to their economic prowess.

Question 2) How does this choice appear as part of the EU-wide negotiations about Refugee politics?

During the initial stages of the 2015 Refugee Crisis, Austria’s policies reflected those from Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition in Germany.  Adopting a welcoming stance towards thousands of refugees, Austria was one of the first countries to open up their borders and settle refugees as they were halted at the Hungarian border and redirected.  Having settled the equivalent of 1% of their entire population in the country and granting generous government funded care packages to ease their transition into their new lives, Austrian society has witnessed cracks in their society between those who believe in taking in refugees and those who see refugees as a threat to their national identity (Kurz, 2017).  While Austria had followed through with the greater European communities wishes to pass liberal policies regarding refugees, they’ve recently caved to far-right political pressures and limited the help given to refugees.  Namely, the Austrian government has stripped refugees of their cellphones, large quantities in cash, and placed holds on citizenship applications, much to the chagrin of human rights watchdogs and their European neighbors (Bell, 2018).  This has presented conflicts with the European bureaucracy as some have interpreted Austria’s actions as standing in direct violation of the Union’s open borders policies which prohibit the restrictions on who can and cannot enter member nations.

Sources:

Austria – FOREIGN RELATIONS. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://countrystudies.us/austria/128.htm.

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/austria-german-unification-and-european-integration-brief-historical-background

Europe Today: A Twenty-First Century Introduction

http://time.com/5068561/sebastian-kurz-austria-chancellor-migrant-crisis/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43823166