internationale Organisationen#

International Organisations, help the international community to regulate political, economic, military, and cultural affairs, and are divided into "International Governmental Organisations" (IGO), associations between states, created by multilateral contracts under international law, with their own structures and competences, and "International Non-Governmental Organisations" (INGO), associations created by social participants for cross-border cooperation in areas ranging from politics (e.g. Greenpeace amnesty international Oesterreich) to sport and culture.

For Austria, membership in international organisations assumed great significance after 1945: Austria was a founding member of the OEEC (April 16, 1948, since 1961 OECD), joined the UN on December 14, 1955, and was admitted to the Council of Europe on March 8, 1956. As a neutral state, Austria took an active role in the international community, and became established as a location for the headquarters of international organisations (such as the UN) and for important international conferences.