With the fall of the Eastern European communist block right-of-centre political scientists such as Francis Fukayama proclaimed the 'end of history' and the birth of a new, and globally liberal capitalist, world order. The Czech republic in particular was often cited as one of the most promising former communist countries for quick integration into this capitalist order. Now over ten years into the transformation process the trends of regional and global integration do not seem as simple as these early proponents of the new world order had suggested. A closer examination of the current trends of Czech international integration will highlight some of the deficiencies of this early hypothesis.
Before embarking upon this discussion it is useful to place the wider integration of the Czech Republic in its historical and cultural context. In the 20th century what is now the modern Czech Republic has undergone several distinct changes in relations to the international community. It was not until 1918 that the Czechs had an autonomous state of their own, within the shared power structures of Czechoslovakia. Before the independence of the Czechs and Slovaks the area was under political control of the larger Austro-Hungarian empire. The Czechoslovak state enjoyed a relatively successful and stable existence as a plural democracy until 1939 and the occupation of Czechoslovakia in accordance with the Munich agreement (Czech, Web). With the end of the war autonomy of the Czechoslovak state was restored.
The larger historical trend of political autonomy within the region was interrupted shortly after 1945 with the Yalta agreement and the inclusion of Czechoslovakia within the USSR directed communist bloc. While theoretically autonomous during this period, the party centred communist system followed the lead of, and routinely answered to, the demands of Moscow under the auspices of 'normalization' (Stokes, 96). As one of the most western and most industrially developed nations of Eastern Europe, the importance of Czechoslovakia within the communist bloc was both strategic and economic. Being such a key part of this larger regional entity, serious deviations from the official party line of Moscow were not tolerated, as the experience of the Prague Spring of 1968 suggests.
The period of communist rule ended in early 1989 with the peaceful removal of the communist party from power. Though the internal efforts of the Civic Forum in this struggle should not be marginalized, there were also several external factors which contributed to the peaceful transfer of power. Most importantly was the removal of the Soviet Union in the domestic politics of Czechoslovakia. As has been noted, it was Moscow which provide much of the legitimacy and policy of the Czech communist party after the Prague Spring, and the changes occurring within the Soviet Bloc as a whole affected the domestic policies of the Czech communist party. With the removal of this basis of legitimacy political forces within the Czech Republic found themselves drawn towards the historical path of plural democracy which had been interrupted during and after the second world war.
The conservative government of Vaclav Klaus which emerged at the head of the coalition government formed in the elections of 1992 sought to establish renewed integration and relations with the rest of the world, particularly Western Europe. With a firm commitment to a transformation towards liberal democracy which took an almost Thatcherite character, Klaus and many other leaders of the Czech republic set goals of integration within the institutions of Western Europe (Rhodes). While many hailed the 'Czech miracle' and assumed that it would successfully integrate into regional institutions such as the EU and NATO, the political opportunities of such integration have become much more complex than anticipated in the early years of transformation.
At first glance the position of the Czech Republic seems to be very promising indeed. Not only is it very close in geographical terms to both past foreign partners of the old Soviet Bloc, but it also borders on the rich markets of what has traditionally been called Western Europe. In addition, the austere policies aimed at creation of a liberal capitalist democracy of the Klaus government follows a similar logic to those of its closest neighbors such as Germany, Poland, and Hungary. Political and economic reforms outlined by Peter Rutland have attempted to create an atmosphere which would make the global and regional integration Czech Republic as smooth as possible within the prevailing neoliberal paradigm.
Internal and external factors have altered the political climate surrounding issues of integration both within the Czech Republic and outside of it. External factors are varied, but include appeals to the decline in performance of the Czech economy as well as growing tensions between some neighboring nations. These exterior elements will be explored below.
The European Union has begun to publicly question the success of the preparations towards regional integration which the Czech Republic has made. A commission of the EU produced a report which criticized the lack of progress towards building a streamlined state bureaucracy and improving the judiciary to levels which meet EU standards (Rhodes). Austria is attempting to block entrance based on the completion of controversial nuclear power plants, arguing that these are unsafe methods of energy production. In addition, Germany has begun to demand annulment of the post war declaration which expelled the ethnic German population from the Sudetenland (Rhodes). These factors have combined to place the Czech Republic behind nations such as Poland, Estonia and Hungary in EU candidacy ratings.
Internally the support for integration within the European Union has also declined since the early years of transformation. Matthew Rhodes outlines how the perception of the EU within the Czech Republic has been altered for the worse. The mass resignation of the EU Commission in 1999 has created an image of the EU as a corrupt institution, and trade disputes have made the EU seem hypocritical and protectionist in the eyes of many Czech politicians as well as the general population. Internal dissatisfaction has also grown with NATO, over the institutions actions in the former Yugoslavia. Though the official stance of the government has been one of support, many Czech politicians have severely criticized the NATO air strikes. Members of the government have publicly denounced NATO 'aggression' and used the term 'primitive troglodytes' to describe the NATO supporters of the air strikes (Rhodes). These criticisms and the image of a less than enthusiastic economic contribution to NATO efforts have strained the Czech Republics relations with this regional institution.
In light of these developments, it seems less than certain that the Czech Republic will become fully integrated into these influential regional institutions. Outside support has declined, while internal public support has likewise been reduced. At present the Republic is not culturally or regionally very diverse, in that the ethnicity of the population is relatively homogenous. As has been outlined in a past discussion of these issues, the major ethno-cultural areas of tension -Slovakia and the Sudetenland Germans- have been removed (Report 2). The demands of Germany with regard to the Sudetenland German population could have consequences for the homogeneous statehood of the Czech Republic, which may further complicate the process of transformation.
While the prospects of integration with state founded regional institutions has come into question, the integration of non-state actors has been more successful. A paper by Klaus Meyer outlines the role of large multinational firms in the Czech Economy through the example of the automotive industry. The integration of the domestic auto manufacturer Skoda with German based Volkswagon creates both opportunities and obstacles for the Republic. VW-Skoda has become part of the global production network of Volkswagon, bringing foreign investment in the Czech economy as well as linking domestic and foreign firms in close business networks. Meyer accents he importance of these networks as a source of practical and technological training, as well as providing personal business contacts with Czech and foreign businessmen which will lead to future opportunities.
While the integration of the automotive industry has allowed for the movement of this sector of the Czech economy into the global environment, it has created strains on domestic firms. With this global integration also comes global competition, as domestic automotive components suppliers compete with not only each other, but similar suppliers in every area of the Volskwagon productive network. The small size of many Czech firms, and the lack of an established reputation within the networks of Volkswagon make the situation an "uphill struggle" for many domestic Czech firms (Meyer). A problem which is linked to the integration of the Czech economy to the global order is the increase in opposition to what many feel is the Americanization of Czech culture. This is identified by Rhodes and others, and has been used to partially explain the sudden shift of politics away from right-of-centre neoliberal models towards social democracy in the past three years. Czech history is filled with periods of subordination, and it is doubtful that the Czech people will sacrifice their new found freedoms to any perceived form of cultural imperialism.
The recent WTO conference in Prague illustrates additional transnational linkages. The selection of Prague as the cite of the conference demonstrates the increasing importance of the Czech Republic to the global economic order, and vice versa. In addition to these linkages however, the protest surrounding this conference illustrates the increased ties to what could be called an emerging global civil society of non-governmental organizations. Thousands of concerned citizens representing a wide array of political and economic concerns gathered in Prague for the protest, and local and foreign groups participated. Though the degree of integration on this civil society level has not been well documented, it would be safe to conclude that transnational linkages within this area are also being pursued by Czech citizens.
As can be seen from the above discussion, the integration of the Czech Republic is not proving
to be as simple or smooth as earlier forecasted. External and internal political differences are
developing between the Republic and the two most prominent regional institutions of the area.
Problems rooted in the post war years have resurfaced which may challenge the homogeneity of
Czech statehood. Integration within the global economic order is presenting both unique
opportunities as well as problems, and with this economic integration the body of Czech
citizenry has sought closer relationships with the forces of global civil society. The process of
transformation and integration seems to be taking a complex and sometimes difficult path which
has proven the early simplistic model of integration to be lacking.
Works Cited
Berend, Ivan. Central and Eastern Europe 1944-1993. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996
Meyer, Klaus E. "International Production Networks and Enterprise Transformation in Central Europe." Comparative Economic Studies. Volume 42.1 (Spring 2000), 135-50.*
Rhodes, Matthew. "Czech Malaise and Europe." Problems of Post-Communism. Volume 47.2 (March 2000), 57-67.*
Rutland, Peter. "Thatcherism, Czech-style: Transition to capitalism in the Czech Republic." Telos. Issue 94 (Winter 1992/93), 103-130*.
Stokes, Gale Ed. From Stalinism to Pluralism. New York: Oxford university Press, 1996.
Official Site of the Czech Republic. Available [Online]. <http//www.czech.cz> Published by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
*note: The above journal articles were made available through the online database EBSCO Host, and as such exact page references could not be made. EBSCO can be accessed through the Trent University Library at <www.trentu.ca>.