The end of Czechoslovakia
By: edited by Jiří Musil.
Contributors: Musil, Jiří, 1928-; Central European University.
Publisher: Central European University Press; Distributed in the U.S. by Oxford University Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Budapest; New York; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 283
Subjects: Czechoslovakia -- Politics and government -- 1945-1992; Czechoslovakia -- Ethnic relations
Description: In The End of Czechoslovakia, scholars and practitioners from both sides of the divide, Czech and Slovak, as well as Western experts, take an in-depth look at the causes of Czechoslovakia's break-up, and seek to explain why a seemingly successful country should disintegrate so quickly after the collapse of the communist regime.

Besides exploring the political processes leading to the split, the authors analyse the underlying social, economic and cultural differences between the two nations and examine the historical roots of the problems. Particular attention is paid to changing Czech and Slovak attitudes towards the common state and towards each other, from the heyday of the First Republic to the disillusionment of the post-1989 period.

. On an international level, important lessons can be drawn from the failure of the Czechoslovak Federation. This multidisciplinary interpretation of the peaceful break-up of a state helps the reader to understand not only the deeper causes of the 'velvet divorce', but the phenomenon of contemporary nationalisms as a whole.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
"This book is the result of three workshops organized by the Central European University in the years 1992-3"--P. [ix].
Table of contents: title: Czech and Slovak demography / Milan Kučera and Zdeněk Pavlik; title: Economic development and relations, 1918-89 / Václav Průcha; title: Czech and Slovak society / Jiří Musil; title: National consciousness and the common state / Jan Rychlik; title: Slovakia in Czech national consciousness / Zdeněk Suda; title: Mutual perceptions in Czech-Slovak relationships / Petr Příhoda; title: Slovak exceptionalism / Miroslav Kusý; title: Political power-sharing in the interwar period / Alena Bartlová; title: From autonomy to federation, 1938-89 / Petr Pithart; title: The politics of transition and the break-up of Czechoslovakia / Sharon L. Wolchik; title: The velvet divorce, institutional foundations / Václav Žák; title: The international context / Jacques Rupnik.