The history of post-communism in a nutshell: Czechia after 1989
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F26482789%3A_____%2F22%3A10152390" target="_blank" >RIV/26482789:_____/22:10152390 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
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DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
The history of post-communism in a nutshell: Czechia after 1989
Original language description
The transition to democracy in Central Europe, including Czechia after 1989 was a challenging social manoeuvre. It contained within itself deeply contradictory impulses. After 1989 the world was gripped by a spirit of euphoria. An irresistible, irreversible and thus also natural transition from communist totalitarianism to democracy was eagerly expected. Francis Fukuyama wrote of the "end of history". Today, in 2021, we know that no linear development to happier tomorrows could ever get materialised. With only few exceptions, dictatorship and authoritarian regimes entrenched themselves or returned to the post-Soviet countries. But even in the region of Central Europe, the foundations of democracy are now being undermined. This is attested to by the developments in Victor Orbán's Hungary and partially also in Jarosław Kaczyński's Poland. In the Czech Republic there are also fears of an erosion of democracy. Since the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2017 and 2018, political players who prefer an orientation towards authoritarian superpowers of Russia and China have strengthened their position. These politicians make no secret that once an opportunity emerges, they would dismantle the institutional pillars of democracy. In the first place it will be independence of the public media and the autonomy of the public prosecution service. Indeed, 32 years after the fall of totalitarian communism, democracy is once again threatened in the region. On the one hand, the post-communist era secured basic human rights and freedoms for its citizens within the conditions of pluralistic relations in the economy and politics. On the other hand, it was accompanied by the advance of clientelism, corruption and organised crime, which culminated in the phenomenon of "party capture", followed by "state capture". The result was a distrust towards the established party elite, followed by the establishment of new political parties and above all the advent of authoritarian tendencies.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
O - Miscellaneous
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50601 - Political science
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
N - Vyzkumna aktivita podporovana z neverejnych zdroju
Others
Publication year
2022
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů