ABSTRACT
Politics in communist Czechoslovakia was treated as though the topmost leadership was the sole originator of policy and the omnipotent executor of its own decisions through a subservient party. The passage of time made the activity of political groups in Czechoslovakia ever more visible and undeniable. The Czechoslovak experience reinforced the growing sense of the need for a revised conception of communist politics that would recognize the part played by groups as well as by leaders. In the period of communist rule, from 1948 to 1953, Czechoslovakia’s political system may be termed quasi-totalitarian. Although usually labeled “totalitarian,” the regime had in fact begun to move into a quasi-pluralist phase characterized by sharp group conflict and a weakened leadership. The process of institutionalizing interest groups proceeded unabated, and informal group activity was stimulated by the course of political events. A number of interdisciplinary teams elaborated proposals for the reform of the political system and developed alternative programs of public policy.
