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Rocky road to democracy: A struggle with legacy of two totalitarian regimes ReviewThis paper discusses history of Czechoslovakia with respect to its democratic development. During its short history, it became part of two totalitarian states, first it became a Protectorate of the Nazi Germany, and after the WW2 it fell into the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. It is interesting to see how it happened that Czechoslovakia emerged on the winning side and became part of the Soviet Block. The book is brief and contains large number of references.CONSTITUTION & DEMOCRACY: This section contains overview of constitutional development, including origins of these documents. Czechoslovakia was a result of President Wilson's effort to recognize smaller nations as partners; and such it emerged from the WW1 as a newly established national state carved out from the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. The 1920 Constitution written by Prof Hoetzel was mainly based on the Constitution of the U.S.A., December Constitution of the Austrian Hungarian Empire, and Constitution of the Third French Republic. First serious constitutional crisis occurred in 1938/9, after the Munich crisis, which then President Benes resolved by abdication. New President, Hacha, was elected before establishment of the Nazi Protectorate. Critical incident decision-making is discussed in this section in an attempt to understand behavior of key figures. Series of international agreements was signed by the exile government of Edvard Benes in London, and after the war before the elections of May 1946. Constitutional vacuum between 1945 and 1948 is seen as a key condition of violence relating to post-war atrocities in Czechoslovakia.
KEY POINTS FROM HISTORY: This section contains critical incidents from the history of Czechoslovakia in relation to their impact on democratic development. Attention is paid to victimization and marginalization of two important figures of Czechoslovak pre-war political scene, Radola Gajda and Milan Rastislav Stefanik. Abdication of Edvard Benes and consent with establishment of Protectorate signed under duress by Hacha created very difficult legal situation for anti-Nazi resistance, both domestic and foreign. This is compared to the situation in Lithuania, where President Smetona refused to approve Russian demands with his signature and fled the country. Shortly after the war, before the conference in Potsdam, several hundred thousands of civilians were slaughtered and about 3 million expelled in a wave of national revenge which was legally grounded in the Presidential Decrees. Agreements signed by the exile government of Edvard Benes during the war are presented in detail, and full text of the most important ones is also enclosed as Appendix. The impact of the so-called Kosice government program from April 1945 on post-war development is discussed as well. After the Communist coup in 1948, the new government launched terror against various groups of population. In 1960's, the regime relaxed its grip until the Soviet invasion of 1968. After the Velvet revolution of 1989, the country had to cope with legacies of the past, including devastating effects of long-term oppression on behavior of the population.
ELECTORAL SYSTEM and THE POWER OF MEDIA: Suffrage, voting power, and electoral system are presented very briefly just to explain the most relevant constraints, explained on the example of non-communist candidate Pavel Wonka, who died in prison after his attempt to run for a public office. Language barrier, spreading of misinformation and exploitation of unlawfully obtained secret recordings for coercion are seen as the most important constraints in development toward democracy.
CONDITIONS OF POLYARCHAL DEMOCRACY: This part compares the current situation in the Czech Republic to the principles of polyarchal democracy as defined by Dahl: elected representation; free, fair, and frequent elections; alternative sources of information; freedom of expression; associational autonomy; and inclusive citizenship.
CONCLUSION: Statistically, the biggest cause of civilian deaths is an authoritarian government. The system can have many formal characteristics of a democracy, and be in fact a ruthless despotic regime with high level of democide.Rocky road to democracy: A struggle with legacy of two totalitarian regimes Overview
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