1. Ethnic Issues in Post-Communist Czechoslovakia
- Author:
- Sharon Wolchik
- Publication Date:
- 01-1992
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the increase in the political salience of ethnicity in the postcommunist period in Czechoslovakia. as in several other postcommunist states, ethnic issues dominated the political agenda in the first two years after the collapse of the communist system and led to the negotiated breakup of the federation. Differences regarding reform led to a series of political crises in 1990 and 1992. Symbolic issues also contributed to the conflict. Political leaders played an important role in increasing the political salience of ethnicity during this period. Their ability to channel the dissatisfaction and uncertainty that accompanied the economic and political changes underway to mobilize support for ethnic aims reflect the fact that Czechs and Slovaks differ in their attitudes toward many important economic and political issues. These differences, in turn, reflect the influence of each people's history, levels of economic development, the legacy of the communist period, and the distinct ways in which the transition to the market affects each region.
- Topic:
- Politics, Economy, Ethnicity, Post-Soviet Space, and Post-Communism
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Czechoslovakia