On the Long and Winding Road to European Union Membership: Austrian Party Elites in Transnational Political Networks

Abstract

Most social science research on political or policy networks focuses on policy-making in Brussels or the member states. In contrast, this chapter addresses national (Austrian) party elites and their transnational networking activities from World War II to the Grand Coalition’s application for European Community (EC) membership in 1989. The first section focuses on the participants in transnational networks and their motives in comparative perspective. The second section discusses the functions and effects of European network participation on the political parties and national policy-making. The conclusion will examine the more recent period of Austrian membership in the European Union (EU), since 1995.