Austria and its efforts towards the prohibition of nuclear weapons

摘要

Austria has been a neutral country since 1955 when, ten years after the end of World War II, the allied forces left the country. The Austrian constitution prohibits the production, possession, and transport of nuclear weapons. After a referendum in 1978, nuclear energy was also banned in Austria. At this time the Austrian government had already planned two nuclear power plants, one of which was in an advanced stage of construction. However the Austrian population was very concerned about their security. This was mainly because of the potential dangers of radiation but also because of the connections with military use, about which prominent Austrian authors such as Erwin Chargaff and Robert Jungk had warned in their publications years before. It was later revealed that the nuclear power plant under construction would anyway have failed to fulfill safety and security standards.