"The growing internationalization of the world poses a fundamental question: through what mechanisms does culture diffuse across political boundaries and what is the role of politics in shaping this diffusion? This volume offers some answers through a case study that examines the relationship between two quite different countries during the cold war - Austria, a small neutral country, and the United States, the reigning superpower.

The authors challenge naive notions of cultural diffusion that posit the submission of small "peripheral" areas to the dictates of hegemonic powers at the "core." "Americanization" has no doubt taken place since 1945; however, local forces crucially shaped this process, and Austrian elites enjoyed considerable leeway in pursuing "Austrian" political objectives."--BOOK JACKET.