The full-fledged Russian invasion of Ukraine is a wake-up call. There is no way to ignore the deep seismic waves it has spread beyond the region and throughout the world; its impact will be epoch-making and global. A War in the Distance, the 2022 edition of steirischer herbst, looked at what Russia’s war of aggression might mean in a postfascist, postimperial, neoliberal Europe. Combining essays and shorter literary texts, the festival’s reader delves into the histories it activates, and the futures it might decide.

Every year for a month, STEIRISCHER HERBST, one of the oldest interdisciplinary festivals of contemporary art in Europe, turns the city of Graz and the province of Styria in Austria into a parcours of installative and performative works. Since 1968, the festival has offered a platform for public debates, critical positions, and dialogues between the arts.