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The Czech Republic: The Unexpected Force of Institutional Constraints

Milada Anna Vachudová

in Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe Volume 2: International and Transnational Factors

Describes the influence of the international institutions in shaping democratic consolidation and economic reform in the Czech Republic as a case study of an East European state that strongly wished ... More

Describes the influence of the international institutions in shaping democratic consolidation and economic reform in the Czech Republic as a case study of an East European state that strongly wished to join those institutions. The chapter traces the changing nature of international influence on the consolidation of Czech democracy as the polity passed through four stages. The first was characterized by profound yet diffuse influence. In the second stage, Western influence was delimited by two factors: (1) ‘homemade’ reform by Prime Minister Václav Klaus, a mix of Czech provincialism, free market ideology, and political pragmatism; and (2) insufficient pressure of NATO and the EU to compel reforms. The third stage saw increased EU criticism of economic performance, corruption, and racism. The fourth stage was characterized by the weakening of the EU membership argument for difficult reforms. Overall, the Czech case shows that the conditionality of the EU depends on a certain tension between confidence in securing membership and fear of suffering rejection due to inadequate reform.Less

The Czech Republic: From the Burden of the Old Federal Constitution to the Constitutional Horse Trading Among Political Parties

Petr Kopecký

in Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe Volume 1: Institutional Engineering

Describes the transition of the Czech Republic from the federal Constitution of Czechoslovakia to the adoption of a new Constitution of the Czech Republic. The Czech Constitution is widely accepted ... More

Describes the transition of the Czech Republic from the federal Constitution of Czechoslovakia to the adoption of a new Constitution of the Czech Republic. The Czech Constitution is widely accepted to be a solid foundation for the country's democratic political system. The chapter focuses on the impact of historical legacies and shows how the nature of bargaining becomes more predictable when the domestic political actors involved in constitution‐drafting provide a stable set of opinions and motivations from which a compromise can be forged. In order to demonstrate this point, the chapter is divided into three parts. The first examines the key elements of the constitution‐making process in the Czechoslovak Federation between 1989 and 1992. It explains the crucial constitutional decisions made during Roundtable Talks and how this particular legacy, combined with the volatile nature of transition politics, resulted in Czechoslovakia's Velvet Divorce. The second part concentrates on the process of drafting the new Constitution of the Czech Republic at the end of 1992. Finally, Kopecky discusses the effects of the Constitution on the democratic Czech Republic.Less

Building Party Government: Political Parties in the Czech and Slovak Republics

Petr Kopecký

in Party Politics in New Democracies

This chapter examines the rise of political parties in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Topics discussed include party systems, party legitimacy, party organizational strength, and the role of the ... More

This chapter examines the rise of political parties in the Czech and Slovak Republics. Topics discussed include party systems, party legitimacy, party organizational strength, and the role of the party in the process of government. It is shown that both countries display behavioural and institutional features which provide for a strong form of party government. The parties control political recruitment; directly or indirectly, they are largely in charge of setting the agenda of the mass media; they enjoy their own autonomous power base; they control proceedings in parliaments; in the absence of strong challengers, they also enjoy a near monopoly over political representation. However, both countries also represent their own version of the generic model of party government, both in terms of its particular configuration of behavioural and institutional features, as well as in terms of its temporal development.Less

The Decline of Mortality in the Czech Republic during the Transition: A Counterfactual Case Study

Jiri Blazek and Dagmar Dzúrová

in The Mortality Crisis in Transitional Economies

While most of the Eastern European countries suffered under the mortality crises, the Czech Republic on the other hand experienced an improvement in its population. In most of the Eastern European ... More

While most of the Eastern European countries suffered under the mortality crises, the Czech Republic on the other hand experienced an improvement in its population. In most of the Eastern European countries experiencing mortality crises, the main reason attributed to their mortality crises is the stress brought about by the uncertainty and joblessness of being unemployed. Another factor is that during the transition period, income differentiation made a substantial number of the population fall below the poverty line. Among the transition countries, the Czech Republic experienced the smoothest transition to which the decline in mortality rate is attributed. In this chapter, the demographic, social and economic changes within the Czech Republic are analysed with the objective of determining the main factor that contributed to the increase in life expectancy of people there.Less

Corporatist Renaissance in Post‐communist Central Europe ?

Mitchell A. Orenstein and Lisa E. Hale

in The Politics of Labor in a Global Age: Continuity and Change in Late-Industrializing and Post-Socialist Economies

While global trends have forced labour into retreat in most countries, in post‐communist Europe, the dramatic opening to world markets in 1989 was achieved through a political breakthrough in which ... More

While global trends have forced labour into retreat in most countries, in post‐communist Europe, the dramatic opening to world markets in 1989 was achieved through a political breakthrough in which organized labour played a major role. Whereas trade unions under communism acted as ‘transmission belts to the working class for state policy and ideology, post‐communist governments needed to develop new roles for resurgent trade unions in a democratic society. In Poland, the post‐communist government juggled a number of different objectives in the reformation of labour market institutions. On the one hand, democratic consolidation demanded that trade unions be constituted as independent social and political forces that would support the new regime. On the other hand, liberalization demanded that trade unions moderate their wage demands so as not to foster runaway inflation. In addition, since trade unions remained the only major civil society organization with significant roots in the working class, trade unions immediately became important partners in any new political coalition. Corporatism, as advocated by the International Labour Organization office in the region, provided a compelling answer to many of these demands. This chapter argues that in Poland, the need to institutionalize a role for trade unions in the emerging democratic society led to a genuinely corporatist forum for indicative negotiation over wages, and the development of progressive social policy. Popular disillusion with structural economic reforms led to corporatist ‘pacts’ negotiated, first, by Solidarity leaders, and then, by the former communists who came to power in 1993. Finally, in 1995, to initiate a Polish tripartite council for social bargaining, using a comparison between Poland and the Czech Republic, the chapter concludes that globalization has strengthened trade unions and the pressures for including them in new forms of corporatist intermediation in post‐communist Europe. While these institutions suffer many of the same problems evident in the developed West, corporatism has become part of the institutional framework of post‐communism and appears to be here to stay.Less

Case Studies

Elli Louka

in Water Law and Policy: Governance Without Frontiers

This chapter presents case studies on water management in various EU countries. These include Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece.

De‐Communization and Political Justice in Central and Eastern Europe

Carmen González‐Enríquez

in The Politics of Memory and Democratization

An exploration is made of the nature and scope of de-communization and political justice in Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic, Slovakia), Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, to each of ... More

An exploration is made of the nature and scope of de-communization and political justice in Czechoslovakia (the Czech Republic, Slovakia), Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, to each of which a section of the chapter is devoted. The term ‘political justice’ is here meant to refer to proceedings held to try crimes (generally related to political repression) committed by outgoing regimes. With the exception of Albania, transitions to democracy in these countries were initiated in 1989, and in all cases, great political tensions arose from demands for the punishment of former communist authorities and those responsible for political repression. These demands formed part of a wider political and cultural process, namely the reworking of public discourse on the nature of the communist regime, and their nature and results varied considerably from country to country; for example, only two – the former Czechoslovakia and Albania – actually carried out purges that affected large numbers of people. This chapter attempts to answer to two main questions: (1) what explains the differences in the scope and nature of the policies adopted, and (2) what impact have they had on the process of democratization. The focus is on the rationality of the political actors or the role that anti-communist campaigns had in shaping political competition, rather than the moral and legal debates surrounding the issue.Less

Sociolinguistic Histories and the Footprint of German in Eastern Central Europe

Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl

in Language and Social Change in Central Europe: Discourses on Policy, Identity and the German Language

This chapter constructs a historical context for the study of language(s) in central Europe, emphasising its multilingual and multiethnic nature and the tension between the emergence of ‘national’ ... More

This chapter constructs a historical context for the study of language(s) in central Europe, emphasising its multilingual and multiethnic nature and the tension between the emergence of ‘national’ languages and the persistence of linguistic minorities. The main argument is that by focusing on the changing position of, and experiences with, one language – German – across the region it is possible to explore the complex ways in which language is implicated in social change at local, national, and transnational levels. At the same time, the authors emphasize that ‘context’ is understood as a dynamic and continuous process, not a static backdrop. The study concentrates on the relationship between policies and experiences with language in Hungary and the Czech Republic (as multi- and as monolingual spaces), and so this chapter provides historical profiles of language use, language contact, language learning, language spread and language decline in these two countries, drawing on documentary and secondary sources. It also includes an account of the master narratives / dominant discourses on ‘Germans’ or ‘German-speakers’, against which the personal narratives in Chapters 5 and 6 can be pitched.Less

Czech Republic

Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu

in Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe

Even after joining the EU in 2004, the Czech Republic retains one of the most restrictive registration requirements for religious groups, one that greatly constraints the autonomy of churches. ... More

Even after joining the EU in 2004, the Czech Republic retains one of the most restrictive registration requirements for religious groups, one that greatly constraints the autonomy of churches. Churches are ranked into two categories, and only religious denominations registered at the second tier (whose membership amounts to at least 10,000) may perform marriage ceremonies and may serve as chaplains in prisons and military barracks. Given the country's pronounced secularization, Christian Democrat political formations play a small role in Czech politics, and religious education entered public schools in the republic much later than in other Eastern European countries. Tolerant legislation carried out from the communist time permitted abortion on a large scale and this has encouraged “abortion tourism,” which has happened hand in hand with an internationally criticized, state-sponsored sterilization program targeting the Roma ethnic minority.Less

The Czech Republic: activation, diversification, and marginalization 1

Tomáš Sirovátka and Ondřej Hora

in Regulating the Risk of Unemployment: National Adaptations to Post-Industrial Labour Markets in Europe

Recent developments in the regulation of the risk of unemployment set the Czech Republic apart from many other European countries. There is evidence neither of a significant blurring of the ... More

Recent developments in the regulation of the risk of unemployment set the Czech Republic apart from many other European countries. There is evidence neither of a significant blurring of the boundaries between the risk of unemployment and other forms of working‐age benefit dependency, nor of any trends towards benefit homogenization. On the contrary, since the early 1990s, a process of growing diversification in benefit rights can be identified, alongside a growing and strong emphasis on activation, associated with cuts in benefit entitlements in social assistance. Three factors in particular have influenced developments in the regulation of unemployment in the Czech case: the timing of the market transformation process, political imperatives of blame avoidance in the context of that transformation, and fiscal constraints which have become more pressing during the recent economic crisis.Less

International Migration and the Consolidation of Democracy

Ewa Morawska

in Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe Volume 2: International and Transnational Factors

Examines the relationship between westbound international migrations and the consolidation of democracy in contemporary East Central Europe (ECE). The chapter focuses on Poland, the Czech Republic, ... More

Examines the relationship between westbound international migrations and the consolidation of democracy in contemporary East Central Europe (ECE). The chapter focuses on Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. It is argued that, paradoxically, in view of the rapidly expanding connection of ECE with the West, the relationship has weakened between the westbound travel by the vast majority of migrants and democratization processes in their home countries. The chapter focuses on the common features of the migration‐democracy relationship in East Central Europe. The author seeks to initiate a conversation between specialists in transnational migration and experts in democratization. The conclusion considers some of the generalizations and lessons are drawn from the study on the relationship between migration and democracy.Less

Russia and Eastern Europe

Kathryn C. Lavelle

in The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets

This chapter considers former Soviet bloc examples, three of which overtly modeled their securities market institutions on Anglo-American practice. These country examples contain cases of Ibusz, ... More

This chapter considers former Soviet bloc examples, three of which overtly modeled their securities market institutions on Anglo-American practice. These country examples contain cases of Ibusz, Cherkizovsky Group, and Harvard Capital that came from the Hungarian case-by-case program, the Russian mass-privatization program, and the Czech voucher program, respectively. In addition, it considers the Polish system, which emulated the German-Japanese example. The company case of Szczecin Shipyard in Poland also demonstrates that as large firms have sought to forge keiretsu-style conglomerates and failed, the state has re-entered their management.Less

From Protection Toward Activation: Reform of Social Assistance in the Czech Republic

Tomáš Sirovátka

in Activation or Workfare? Governance and the Neo-Liberal Convergence

The chapter analyses the transformation of the social assistance scheme in the Czech Republic within the context of labor market policies during 2000–2010. First, the key steps of the activation ... More

The chapter analyses the transformation of the social assistance scheme in the Czech Republic within the context of labor market policies during 2000–2010. First, the key steps of the activation reform and recent reforms enacted as a reaction to the financial and economic crisis are depicted. Second, key factors that have influenced the reforms are examined; and, finally, the nature of the reform within the overall development of the Czech welfare state is assessed. While until 2008 a “soft activation” approach, which combined repressive and restitutive sanctions, had prevailed, since 2008 a more radical approach has been adopted, with repressive workfare requirements being introduced. More recently, and in line with this more radical approach, the Czech government decided to introduce cuts to both the benefits and the services targeted at minimum income recipients.Less

Give Me Trafika: Party Patronage in the Czech Republic

Petr Kopecky

in Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies

This chapter discusses party patronage in the Czech Republic. The central argument of this chapter is that popular discourses overestimate the spread and use of patronage and, to a lesser degree, ... More

This chapter discusses party patronage in the Czech Republic. The central argument of this chapter is that popular discourses overestimate the spread and use of patronage and, to a lesser degree, also that of clientelism in Czech politics. Using the framework, definitions, and measures employed in the volume as a whole, the chapter demonstrates that party patronage is neither particularly pervasive nor predominantly supposed to reward partisans with state jobs, something often implied in the academic studies of the Czech case, and in the country’s media and public debates. The chapter also demonstrates that while party patronage is most widespread in ministries, it is relatively evenly spread among different policy areas. The conclusion explores the broader implications of the observed patterns of patronage for understanding party and party government performance.Less

Language Policy Discourses: Interventions and Intersections

Patrick Stevenson and Jenny Carl

in Language and Social Change in Central Europe: Discourses on Policy, Identity and the German Language

The focus in this chapter is on the complex ‘layering’ of language policy – an exploration of the multiple levels at which language policies are formulated and the conflicts between them, from ... More

The focus in this chapter is on the complex ‘layering’ of language policy – an exploration of the multiple levels at which language policies are formulated and the conflicts between them, from supranational EU and transnational corporate/commercial strategies promoting multilingualism in various forms, through national domestic and foreign cultural policies continuing to foster the idea of ‘national’ languages, to local-level lobbying of indigenous and migrant minority groups – and on the ways in which these policies/policy discourses impact on individual and collective lives by creating particular kinds of space.Less

Five Years After the Fall: Trajectories of Support for Democracy in Post‐Communist Europe

William Mishler and Richard Rose

in Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government

Assesses the trajectories and dynamics of public support for seven democratizing regimes in Central and Eastern Europe—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and ... More

Assesses the trajectories and dynamics of public support for seven democratizing regimes in Central and Eastern Europe—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia—during the first five years following the fall of communism. It begins by offering a reconceptualization of support for new democracies. An examination is then made of popular approval of the new regimes in 1991, shortly following the collapse of communism, and the trajectory of support is tracked through to 1995. Next, a model of the dynamics underlying these trends is developed and tested, paying particular attention to the extent to which support is contingent on political and economic performance. More generally, an exploration is made of whether and to what extent the sources of support change over time as citizens acquire experience with the new regimes.Less

Introducing Environmental Tax Reform: The Case of the Czech Republic

Petr Šauer, Ondřej Vojáček, Jaroslav Klusák, and Jarmila Zimmermannová

in Environmental Tax Reform (ETR): A Policy for Green Growth

The Czech Republic has a long history of environmental payments and charges and there has been interest in ETR there for some years, with some implicit tax shifts during the 1990s. The chapter ... More

The Czech Republic has a long history of environmental payments and charges and there has been interest in ETR there for some years, with some implicit tax shifts during the 1990s. The chapter describes the first explicit ETR in 2008, in the context of the implementation of the EU Energy Tax Directive, and uses this policy as the basis for detailed qualitative research into different stakeholders’ understanding of and support for ETR. The chapter ends with some lessons and recommendations from the Czech experience which could be useful to other Central and Eastern European countries contemplating ETR.Less