Zukunft in der Provinz: Zur Kontinuität anti-kosmopolitischer Vorstellungen in einer österreichischen Berggemeinde

In this contribution to the volume I shed light on a region in Austria, which is often described as a hotbed for exclusionary political movements. The long-term support of its population for Joerg Haider - the avantgarde politician of the European right - as well as the decades lasting fight against the constitutional right of the Slovenian minority to be recognised, has created a narrative of Carinthia as evidence for the political backwardness of rural areas. Taking this context as a point of departure, my contribution aims to better understand anti-migrant, illiberal and anti-cosmopolitan sentiments at the crossroads of a unified Europe. I do so by exploring socio-cultural genealogies of anti-cosmopolitan practices in a rural, Alpine community in Carinthia, which is characterised by a long history of cross-border mobility on the one hand and support for authoritarian movements on the other. By zooming in on the everyday interactions in a small mountain village, I highlight how inhabitants negotiate, perform and make sense of ideas of tradition, heritage and belonging.