ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the fundamental issues connected with the partition of the Czechoslovak state. The tragedy of modern Czechoslovakia was that the growing influence of the new Slovak intelligentsia and national self-emancipation were not accompanied by a transformation of the theory of Czechoslovakism. The idea of Czechoslovakism, together with the idea of democracy, remained the fundamental idea of the Czechoslovak state, even in the threatened republic. Czech political culture has been determined by messianic aspects and the democratic ideals and practices of Czech politicians in the Vienna and Czechoslovak parliaments. According to some eminent political scientists, the partition of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic will greatly influence relations with Germany. While the democracies are showing concern at the disintegration of Czechoslovakia, orthodox Communist regimes in Cuba and North Korea interpret the Czechoslovak divorce as the outcome of spontaneous democratization and transition to a radical market economy.
