Oliver Rathkolb

Oliver Rathkolb, is a former Head of Department and Professor emeritus at the Department of Contemporary History, University of Vienna (Austria), scientific director of the Vienna Institute of Cultural and Contemporary History (VICCA) and Chairperson, Academic Committee, House of European History, Brussels and the Austrian House of History, Vienna. As a visiting professor he taught at the University of Chicago and was Schumpeter-Professor at Harvard University. Oliver is author of several books focusing on contemporary history as well as editor and co-editor of several studies concerning interdisciplinary questions of contemporary history, authoritarianism and democracy, music history and communications/media history. He is the managing editor of the journal “Zeitgeschichte” (Contemporary History), His recent book "The Economics of Fear. The Return of the Age of Anxiety" received the 2026 Science Book prize in the category of humanities, social sciences and cultural studies. Oliver is a Salzburg Global Fellow.