The Czech Republic: A Nation of VelvetCzechoslovakia has captured the nation's imagination throughout the twentieth century. The Allied betrayal of the country to Nazi Germany in 1938 was to demonstrate the appalling consequences of naive appeasement of aggression. The wholesale reform of Soviet communism in the Prague Spring of 1968 won western support, and sympathy when it was crushed by Warsaw Pact tanks. The fierce communist regime thereafter was brought down almost magically in 1989. Czechoslovakia added to the international political vocabulary the term, 'Velvet Revolution', and the velvet metaphor has characterised much of the country's path-breaking postcommunist transformation and its peaceful break-up in 1993. In separate chapters on history, politics, economics, foreign relations and the new Czech identity, this book not only applauds the successes of the Czech Republic since 1993, but also uncovers the frayed edges of the velvet nation. |
Contents
FROM THE FOUNDATION TO THE VELVET REVOLUTION AND THE VELVET DIVORCE | 1 |
THE INSTITUTIONAL ARENA AND RULES OF THE GAME IN CZECH POLITICS | 39 |
THE BURST BUBBLE OF THE CZECH ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION | 83 |
THE CZECH REPUBLICS FOREIGN POLICY | 131 |
Chapter 5 A NATION OF VELVET? TOWARDS A NEW CZECH NATIONAL IDENTITY | 159 |
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1998 elections agreement banks became Beneš Cabinet Central European Civic Democratic Party Civic Forum Communist Party communist-era Constitution country’s Crowns ČSSD currency Czech and Slovak Czech economy Czech foreign policy Czech government Czech Lands Czech national Czech politics Czech Republic Czech Republic’s December Deputies dissident Dlouhý Dubček East European Eastern Europe economic reforms economic transformation Economist February federal government’s Havel Hospodářské noviny Hungary industrial interwar January Jiří June 1992 elections KDU-ČSL Klaus government KSČ leader leadership Lidové noviny major March Mečiar membership military Mladáfronta Dnes NATO November Parliament parliamentary particularly Party’s percent of Czechs Poland political parties popular population post-communist Czechoslovakia Prague Spring Právo President Prime Minister programme regime restitution Romanies seats Senate Slovakia Social Democrats socialist Sudeten Germans Tošovský trade transition unemployment Václav Václav Havel Václav Klaus Velvet Divorce Velvet Revolution vote voucher privatization Zeman Zieleniec