ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyzes the evolution of the Czechoslovak state from its inception in 1918 until the time of its break with communist rule in 1989. It emphasises on the legacies of the earlier experiences of political and social transformation and their relevance to the present. The book introduces students in North American universities to the citizens of the Czech and Slovak states—citizens who shared a joint state between 1918 and 1939, and again between 1945 and 1993. Focusing on the domestic politics of the triple transition, the Czech and Slovak paths are seen to diverge in the course of the initial efforts to transform politics after the Velvet Revolution. The book examines the culmination of Czech and Slovak differences in the Velvet Divorce that emerged after efforts to preserve the joint state had ended in deadlock.