ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the political economy of land reform and agricultural privatization in former Czechoslovakia. The state of Czechoslovakia was formed in 1919 following the division of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. Czechoslovakia was characterized by very unequal land distribution. Immediately after its independence, the Petka government started land reform. After the elections, Czechoslovakian politics was characterized by the disintegration of the leading political movements. In September 1990, the federal government adopted the Scenario for Economic Reform, a program for economic reforms in Czechoslovakia. Minimizing economic disruption was an important consideration of the Czechoslovakian ruling parties in their decisions rearding agricultural reform. After the division of Czechoslovakia, the Czech government parties, which supported radical liberalization, faced the growing success of parties propagandizing for slowed reforms and more state intervention. The demand for a more radical agricultural reform was mainly voiced by the Czech Christian democratic parties in the opposition.
