Today Austria is a small, neutral, and economically successful country in the heart of Europe. Yet modern Austria is the product of a complex and turbulent history. Following World War I, Vienna lost its position as the capital of a large continental and multiethnic empire and became an alpine republic surrounded by larger states. Anthony Bushell s "Polemical Austria "examines this transition, asking how such an abrupt change has affected the way Austrians perceive themselves today. Bushell places particular emphasis on the role of language in Austrian national identity.
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