Photo of Assoz.Prof. PD MMag. Dr. Wolfgang ASCHAUER © Daniela Gruber© Daniela Gruber

Associate Professor MMag. Dr. Wolfgang ASCHAUER
Responsible for Internationalization Department of Sociology and Human Geography

Paris Lodron University of Salzburg / Department of Sociology and Human Geography / Devision of Sociology
Rudolfskai 42, A-5020 Salzburg

Tel.: 43 (0) 662-8044-4105
E-Mail:

Room: 031
Office hours:Wednesday 11.00 – 12.00 (also possible online via MS Teams)

Associate Professor MMag. Dr. Wolfgang ASCHAUER Postdoc position from 2007 to 2011, Assistant Professor from 2011 to 2015, since 2016 Associate Professor, currently at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, Devision of Sociology; specialized in research on social integration (cultural diversity and social cohesion), research on migration and racism, quantitative methods / cross-national survey research und tourism research.

Link zu Google Scholar Profile:  https://scholar.google.at/citations?user=7BZqwc0AAAAJ&hl=de

Link zu Orchid:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7917-557X

Background: born in Steyr, Upper Austria on 29th of December, 1979; academic studies: Sociology, Psychology and Communication Science at the University of Salzburg, PhD in 2007 with dissertation thesis entitled “Tourismus im Schatten des Terrors. Eine vergleichende Analyse der Auswirkungen von Terroranschlägen (Bali, Sinai, Spanien), published as a monograph in German language in 2008 (Publisher: Profil Company Munich-Vienna) (see the following   Review).  Award for innovative teaching at the University of Salzburg for an applied research practical course on migration and integration (together with Dr. Manfred Oberlechner) in 2009. 2015 habilitation (venia legendi: sociology). The comprehensive monograph (habilitation work) with the title “The societal malaise of EU citizens” Causes, characteristics, consequences.” was published in German language by   Springer in spring 2017.  Additionally there is an open-acess publication in English with central results of the habilitation: see here. Historical Social Research, 41(2), 307-359. New open access publication on the dynamics of ethnocentrism in European regions (further research based on habilitation) in European Societies: Aschauer, W., & Mayerl, J. (2019). The dynamics of ethnocentrism in Europe. A comparison of enduring and emerging determinants of solidarity towards immigrants. European Societies, see  here.

In recent years I published various articles on the dynamics of integration and on xenophobia and Islamophobia in Austria, see for example an edited volume on the living conditions of migrants in Austria and one article on religiosity as a factor influencing anti-Muslim resentment, see  here and  here.

Since 2020 I was responsible for archiving a cross-national survey on values in times of crises (see  here) and I was in charge of three waves of the Austrian survey (see  here). Based on various Austrian surveys during COVID 19 I have published two edited volumes (open access) on the consequences of the pandemic for Austrian society (see  here and  here).

In addition, I have completed, managed and participated in numerous third-party funded projects (in particular BMWBF, FFG) as well as commissioned research for the Salzburg Chamber of Labour or the Robert Jungk Library, for more details see research projects (here) or further information in the PURE-database of the University of Salzburg ( here).

Main research fields:

Research on social integration:

  • Dynamics of ethnic prejudice, authoritarianism and right-wing populism  and new cleavages between and within European states
  • Quality of life research: Wellbeing in a cross-cultural perspective
  • Challenges of cultural diversity and social cohesion, future worries in a national and international perspective  

Research on causes and consequences of cross-border mobility:

  • Migration research (with a special focus on challenges of integration)
  • Tourism research (travel motivation, intercultural encounters, sociocultural impacts of tourism)

Research on methods:

  • Particularly survey-research, cross-cultural equivalence