Global Vienna – Vienna: global?

Andrea Komlosy

Gerhard Strohmeier

Vienna: Capital of Austria

Vienna: Important part of Austrian history for a long time

Changing manifestations of Austria: Roman Limes Provinces (1-5th c. AC) Frontier Province (Mark) (803-1156), 996 “Ostarrichi” Duchy (1156) – state sovereignty Regnum (1192-1699) World Empire (1516-1556) Continental Empire (1699-1918) Republic (1918-38, 1945ff)

Often part of larger political units: Holy Roman Empire, German Confederation, Greater Germany, European Union

Conceptualizing Austria

1st: There is no natural geographical territory, defined Austrian.2nd: Our perception starts from the territory of today's Austrian state

(= Republic of Austria)3rd: In history the Austrian state had different territories with

changing boundaries, as well as in the history of the other successor states.

4th: There is no Austrian people in an ethnic sense; Austrian people are the people that belong to the respective state: +) subjects of the Duke, Archduke, King, Emperor or whatever; +) citizens of the Empire, Republic. The Austrian population consists of various ethnic groups (peoples), which form the nation.

Political nation: Austrian Ethnic nation / peoples: German, Czech, Magyar, Croat, …

A global perspective… ?

How do Viennese relate to and interact with the world? (a node in a network, centre of Europe, …)

Viennese impacts on the world International/global impacts on Vienna Vienna: A “Global City”?

global history? Historical developments rooted and driven by inter-

actions between actors from several world-regions: how do they impact local/regional/national developments, where and how do they meet/inter-mingle with specific domestic factors?

How shall we conceive “global”? Multi-layered understanding of relations across Austrian

borders (changing in quality, quantity, significance, intensity, distance, and direction)

regional Neighbour states and Individuals and groupsregions

continental Other European states Political, cultural, economic

transcontinental Non-European states institutional

Inter-national or inter-regional?

Shall we include inter-regional relations into a global perspective?

e.g. Core-periphery relations, inter-ethnic relations in Austria?

Vienna: a stage for global historyHow do Capitals’ relations differ from inter-state

relations? Are they representative for the country, or are they specific, condensed, exceptional and untypical?

Approaches:

a) Viennese history seen through interactions with other parts of the world

b) Viennese history as a reflection and expression of global history in the capital, respectively in Austria (Mark, Duchy, Empire, Republic)

A Global over-strech?

If almost everything has global impacts, how to avoid global overstretch?

Emphasizing ona) Influences, transfers, encounters and conflicts

b) Integration and disintegration, association - dissociation, dominance - hegemony – dependency, that characterize all inter-relations.

Specific themes for a global history of Vienna: Diplomacy, international relations International organizations, conferences Cultural transfers -> < Church and City Urban autonomy versus central state influence Economic relations Vienna’s role in the global economy Migrations -> <- Asylum and expulsion Self-perception and representation

Specific regions for a global history of Vienna:

Western Europe Eastern and south eastern Europe Ottoman Empire and Balkans Austrian – German relationship Relations with the successor states of the HM East-west relations and Neutrality

Vienna: A Global City?

„Global Cities“: geographic term by Saskia Sassen („Mega-Cities“, „World Cities“)

…important node in global economic system…

Sassen: … some 45 cities in the world …

Is Vienna a global city?

Global Cities

Some characteristics:- Active influence in international politics and

world affairs- Fairly large population- Multicultural population- Cultural importance (Media, Arts)- Important financial institutions, corporate

headquarters- Important traffic node