Austria is a Central European nation, which prior to the mid-1940's controlled the second-largest landmass in Europe after Russia. Despite being on the winning side of World War II, the Austrian Empire slowly unraveled during the 1950's and 1960's until it had collapsed, a phenomenon which played an important role in the Cold War. Today, Austria is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. The current Chancellor of Austria is Arnold Schwarzenegger.