by Léa Gaudron and Nicolas Dünkelsbühler (KU Leuven) This blog post was written for the course "Current Issues in Global and EU Affairs", which took place from February 11-May 9, 2019. Schwarzenegger meeting with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern in 2017. Image Credit: SPÖ/Zach-Kiesling, via Creative Commons Being born in a small town in post-war Austria in 1947 is an unlikely start for anyone to live the American Dream. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, born as the second son of a poor and conservative family in a rural area near Graz, with a father who had a Nazi past, made it. He also became an important figure in transatlantic relations, showing that it is possible to reach the highest ranks of politics in the US, while having an influence on the political and cultural sphere in Europe. Schwarzenegger’s success story started when he moved to the United States. He had been interested in bodybuilding since age 15; at the end of his career he won Mister Universe ...