Abstract
This chapter outlines a socioeconomic framework that builds on conceptions of hegemony and authoritarian neoliberalism in order to analyse and to link the various intertwined processes marking the authoritarian policy shift in the EU. While economic necessity serves as the overarching mantra, the disciplining of households and member states’ budgets through austerity policy measures intensified in the aftermath of battling the 2008 crisis and eventually led to an overemphasis of authoritarian elements in policy-making as well as on the level of negotiating social consensus. On the societal level, austerity and the amplification of authoritarian policies and discourses have led to increasing levels of radicalization due to an increasing lack of prospects, the widespread diffusion of economistic imperatives, and the subsequent formation of new societal groups within an environment of constant economic insecurity.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
See Demirović et al. (2011) for an elaborate definition of the term. It generally refers to the multidimensionality of what the authors call “interlocking crisis dynamics“; a situation of an economic crisis gradually affecting additional fields in a country—societal, ecological, etc.
- 3.
Examples for the utilization of vocabulary or notions to this effect are mentioned in the section below.
- 4.
For a discussion of related conceptions, see Reiner and Zeilinger in this volume.
- 5.
- 6.
The data for the 2017 elections clearly show that the Austrian Freedom Party managed to obtain the majority of blue-collar votes with a staggering 59%. See SORA/ISA 2017, online, 5.
- 7.
Translation by the author. Note the use of the term „housewife“, serving as embodiment of national budgets. „Was tut jede Hausfrau, wenn sie knapp bei Kasse ist? Sie spart bei den Ausgaben“.
- 8.
For a detailed classification of right wing parties in this context, see Salzborn in this volume.
- 9.
“The family, as a partnership between a man and a woman with common children, is the natural nucleus that holds a functioning society together, and which, with the solidarity of the generations, underpins our sustainability.” Party Programme of the Freedom Party of Austria, (Liberal Policy Guidelines, Item 4), online.
- 10.
In this regard, the Hungarian government’s recent ban of gender studies at universities—as a further infringement in addition to the attacks on the free press and the judicial system—serves as a paragon for the targeted development in Austria.
- 11.
According to Koschorke (2016, p. 35), the presentation of a faction’s project as a “cleansing effort” poses a common cornerstone in the constituting works of dictatorships.
- 12.
DerStandard online (2018a), translation by the author.
- 13.
DerStandard online (2018b), translation by the author.
- 14.
Ibid., translation by the author.
- 15.
In this volume, see Zeilinger and Reiner on the dismantling of welfare systems.
- 16.
Cf. Austrian Broadcasting Corporation 2018b.
- 17.
Cf. Austrian Broadcasting Corporation 2018c.
- 18.
Translation by the author. Original quote in German: „Generell ist der Kritik von Künstlern in den heutigen Tagen anzumerken, dass sie einzig vonseiten diverser ‚Systemgünstlinge‘ stammt, die wohl im fortgeschrittenen Alter um ihre Altersvorsorge in Form von Aufträgen bangen müssen, denn der Lebenswandel in den 70er- und 80er Jahren dürfte nicht viel übergelassen haben“. https://wien.orf.at/news/stories/2929063/. Accessed 22.10.2018.
- 19.
Since the inauguration of the ÖVP-FPÖ government in 2017, the debate has increasingly been steered towards a “Grundwerte” (“core values”) discussion—particularly “Austrian” core values—and has thus been among the more prominent ones instigated by government representatives and conservative media in course of the so-called “migration crisis”.
- 20.
Curiously enough, the Austrian term of „Hausverstand“ is a direct translation of „common sense“ and is, as such, frequently used by government representatives in course of legitimizing the explanation of certain economic (chiefly austerity-related) measures. See Crehan (2016, p. X) for a discussion of the term.
- 21.
Despite showing a small decrease compared to the results of the 2014 survey, the data show that about one third of the Austrian population would approve a strong leader who does not have to heed parliamentary procedures or election results, and slightly more than one third supports an illiberal, authoritarian form of government. At the same time, impressions of powerlessness in the face of modern complexity and frustrations with politics have increased (cf. Zandonella 2018).
- 22.
Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) 2018a.
- 23.
The Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance classifies the mentioned paper as one of the „disinformation projects“ associated with the far right in Austria (cf. DÖW 2017).
- 24.
Wochenblick online (2018).
- 25.
Cf. Salzborn and Liebhart in this volume.
- 26.
Theurl (2018) offers an overview of labor market policies indicating this transformation for the Austrian field.
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Pachel, M. (2020). Tales of Fragmented Hegemony: The Disciplining of Labor, Redundant People and the Authoritarian Re-Configuration of Neoliberalism. In: Wöhl, S., Springler, E., Pachel, M., Zeilinger, B. (eds) The State of the European Union. Staat – Souveränität – Nation. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-25419-3_9
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