ABSTRACT
The Slovene minority of Austria constitutes one of Europe’s lesser-known ethnic minorities. Although small in number, as we shall see, the land on which they reside has often provided an arena for mutually exclusive Austrian and Yugoslav claims. That their presence no longer excites the passions it once did is the consequence of diligent policy-making and the careful if sometimes not completely painless implementation of minority rights policies. For reasons of space, this chapter focuses on one element of the relationship between ethnic Slovenes and the host Austrian society. That element is the participation of the minority in the electoral and party political processes of Austrian politics. As we shall see, such participation may have broader implications for other such minorities in Europe.
