The political and social changes which have occurred in the Czech Republic since the fall of communism in 1989 have a uniquely Czech character which draws on the collective memory of the past. While initial difficulties arose out of the multiethnic nature of the former Czechoslovakia, these issues of nationality and statehood were resolved peacefully through what has come to be called the 'velvet divorce'. Using the framework provided by Juan Linz it can be shown that the independent Czech Republic seems to be on a path which will lead to a consolidated democracy in the future.
Czechoslovakia was a multiethnic state which suffered from strained relationships between the different ethnic groups. Prior to the Second World War there were three major communities which shared the Czechoslovak state: The Czechs, the Slovaks and the Sudetenland Germans. The end of WWII created a context within which peaceful coexistence of the Czechs and Slovaks with the German minority was no politically possible, and as such the Sudetenland Germans were forced to emigrate out of the Czechoslovak lands. Though space limits the full explanation of this emigration, Bideleux and Jeffries provide an historical account of this period (517). Under communist rule, the Czech and Slovak peoples shared political power under a kind of federal framework. With the fall of communism in 1989 this federal structure began to suffer from differing political ideas of the direction the Czechoslovak state should pursue.
Based on the analysis of nation and state as outlined by Linz, the Czechoslovak state fits the presentation of the difficult path towards democracy where there are several different and conscious nations contained within a multiethnic state. The Czechoslovak state after 1989 committed itself to building a liberal democratic environment within a federal framework, and this transformational system remained in place for almost four years (Berend, 305). As Linz theorizes, this form of multiethnic statehood can exist, but is inherently unstable and finds itself under pressure to move towards peaceful or violent secession (36). In January of 1993 this peaceful secession became a reality as the autonomous states of the Czech and Slovak Republics were created by mutual agreement among political elites of both nations. It is interesting to note however, that the 'velvet divorce' was largely a product of the will of political elites and did not have broad support from either national constituency (Meszaros). Despite this lack of general support however, the outcome of the 'velvet divorce' remains the same. Within the Czech Republic there is little cultural or ethnic diversity, and certainly no consciousness of any multiplicity of nations within the newly created republic. The breakup of the Czechoslovak state is the best possibility for both nations, as this creates an environment within which a democratic regime can easily be constructed, consolidated and made strong within a monocultural state (Linz, 36). The first prerequisite of a consolidated democracy of an overlap of the concepts of nation and state as outlined by Linz has therefore been realized through the creation of an independent Czech republic.
This strong relationship between nation and state is only part of the process of moving towards a consolidated democracy. The existence of four distinct arenas of social coordination must also be present. Moreover, not only must these arenas be present, but they must also mediate and support each other in a continuing process. Through the use of historical examples during the post-communist period it can be seen that the Czech Republic is steadily moving towards the full development and mediation of all four of these arenas.
The first of these arenas outlined by Linz is that of civil society. This element of Czech political life was in existence in an underground form even before the collapse of the communist regime. Many authors including Berend credit movements formed within Czech civil society as the primary force which challenged the ancien regime (305). Groups within this underground civil society formed the Civic Forum and the Charter 77 opposition which played an active role in the dismantling of the communist regime. One of the first tasks taken after the communist collapse was free elections, which saw the Charter 77 civil opposition gain political power. The Charter 77 government sought to create the foundations of a parliamentary democracy based on free and fair elections (Berend 307).
This project of the first elected government has steadily developed to create the second requisite arena of consolidated democracy, that of a political society based on free and inclusive elections (Linz, 14). The political society of the Czech Republic has emerged as a fully developed multi-party democracy. The official website of the Republic cites eleven different political parties ranging from the reformed Communist Party to the conservative right wing Civic Democratic Party (Czech, web). Since 1989 the Czech republic has had four elections, with a swing from right to left. Presently the left of centre Czech Social Democratic Party maintains a minority government (Czech, web). The state apparatus has likewise evolved to fit the rational and bureaucratic norms that Linz outlines. In many ways it strongly resembles the state structures that exist in most western democracies, with separate institutions responsible for legitimizing and legalizing forms of action and association within many spheres of society (Czech, web). Likewise, the Czech Republic has developed a strong constitution which protects "civil rights, the relationship between the executive and legislative branches of power, and the independence of the judiciary" which satisfies 'rule of law' criteria which Linz develops (Czech, web).
While the existence of civil society, political society, a rational state apparatus and the rule of law are important, the way in which these different arenas interact and support each other is the aspect which truly defines the prospect of a consolidated democracy. Examples of these interactions shows that the Czech Republic is indeed moving towards consolidation.
An example which illustrates the interaction between civil society, the state and the rule of law is the scandal in 1997 surrounding the government of Vaclav Klaus. What occurred was a Czech newspaper had discovered that Klaus' party held a secret bank account within which suspicious funds had been deposited. While the evidence was not sufficient for direct legal action, Klaus was forced to resign (Meszaros). This is a good example of an element of a free civil society acting as a check upon the workings of the state and a group within political society. Moreover, it is an example of the necessity for political society to have legitimacy in the eyes of civil society and the legal norms upon which this legitimacy is based. The newspaper is an element of civil society which discovered questionable sources of funding to a party operating within political society and the state apparatus. It was upon the questionable legality of these funds that the legitimacy of the government was removed.
In a paper dealing with the interaction of the Czech managerial elite and the state apparatus Hilary Appel and John Gould provide another example of the interaction between these different arenas of society. In their analysis of the transformation process upon the management /government relationship they provide another example of the interaction between an element of civil society and the state apparatus. It also outlines an instance of the state authority creating new legal norms which enriched the participation of civil society in the transformation process. Early in the process of privatization, information of companies was only available to the top levels of management. But through the legislative framework of the state new laws were passed which made this information available to the public, and allowed any interested party in civil society to partake in the privatization process (Appel). Also inherent in this discussion is the relationship between civil society and political society. This is constructed using the notion of 'identity politics' which refers to the 'new' Czech identity which was itself based on the historical liberal democratic traditions of the area. What is important is that this vision of Czech identity was a central political force in the election of the liberal right wing party of Vaclav Klaus (Appel). Here we have an instance of the collective identity of civil society legitimizing and forming the values of the emerging democratic political society.
A third example which illustrates the linkages between these four arenas of society lie in the role which tripartism played in the Czech polity. It has been argued that the tripartist structures between labour, business and the government operated as an enduring consultative process (Myant). Though this notion of tripartist structures is open to debate and each constituent member seems to have a slightly different notion of its role, such consultative arrangements have been renewed under the most recent parliament (Myant). There are several key aspects of this structure which should be highlighted. Firstly is the role which labour seeks for itself. Myant's article shows that labour sought to use tripartist structures to form legitimate negotiated agreements with government, and preferred this form of interaction rather than getting directly involved in politics. This supports an idea of civil society which is separate from political society but seeks to build legitimate relationships with the state apparatus. Moreover, from the view of both labour and government, these tripartite structures consult on both the specific policies of the state apparatus, as well as the legislative modes of government (Myant). Thus two important organized elements of civil society are provide with a legitimate mode of influence and normative input into the legal and political issues which affect their particular interests. All of this occurs within an established formal context with it's own bureaucratic method, now known as Councils of Economic and Social Agreement (RHSD).
Within the Czech Republic the opportunities for consolidation of democracy are strong. The
independent Czech state has a close relationship to the mononational composition of the people
that reside within it's borders, removing the past dual nationalisms of the old Czechoslovak
Republic. Within Linz's theoretical framework this is the most promising environment for a
stable and consolidated democracy to exist (36). The success of the Czech nation-state as a
democratic society will also be supported by the four major social arenas. It has been shown
above that not only does civil society, political society, the rule of law, and the state apparatus
exist in the Czech Republic, but these four arenas also support and mediate upon one another.
This support and mediation is the key component of building a stable consolidated democracy.
While the Czech Republic is still undergoing the transformation process and crossing difficult
social and economic hurdles, the indication of this analysis is that the Czech Republic will
emerge as a strong and consolidated democratic nation-state in the near future.
Bideleux, Robert and Ian Jeffries. A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change. London: Routledge, 1998.
Czech Republic Homepage. Available [Online]. <http//www.czech.cz/> Published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
Linz, Juan and A. Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Mateju, Petr. "Winners and Losers in the Post Communist Transformation: The Czech Republic in Comparative Perspective." Innovation: The European Journal of Social Sciences. Volume 9.3 (Sept. 1996), 371-391.
Meszaros, Andor I. "Divergent Neighbors." Harvard International Review. Volume 21.2 (Spring 1999), 30-42.
Myant, Martin, Brian Slocock and Simon Smith. "Tripartism in the Czech and Slovak
Republics." Europe-Asia Studies. Vol 52.4 (Jun 2000), 723-740.
note: All 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>.