Catching the EC train: Austria and Switzerland in comparative perspective

represented a genuine challenge for the small EFTA countries. This common c hallenge did not lead to similar responses, however. Our contribution aims at highlighting this diversity through a comparative analysis of Austria an d Switzerland. We focus on how decision-makers in the two countries amended central policy courses in response to these changes. Based on the analytic al concept of coherence that takes into account internal as well as externa l aspects of foreign policymaking we examine whether these policy amendment s were consistent with domestic and international constraints. We show that Austria is a case of good strategic mastery by the government. Coherence w ith both the domestic and the external context resulted in a determined cou rse of action that pushed Austria smoothly into the Community In contrast, fellow EFTA member, Switzerland, suffered major policy setbacks with regard to European integration. Most noticeably, the Swiss government showed a ve ry poor strategic understanding of the external context and believed that t he European Economic Area would provide Switzerland with both market access and political nights. The end result is that Switzerland finds itself bein g the former EFTA country with the smallest access to the Single Market.