ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Czechoslovakia as a case of defunct federalism. It explains the instrumental use and construction of Czechoslovak federalism could fill the gap of the absent Czechoslovak federal identity only temporarily and under certain internal and/or external conditions. The institutional explanations are in line with the instrumental approach to federalism as the main cause behind the failure of the Czechoslovak federation. However, they fail to see the communist period as only one instance of instrumentality and careless institutional design. Moreover, they also omit the interplay of various identities and their impact on political processes. The chapter reviews the Czechoslovak case to the theoretical hypotheses on federal failure, emphasizing especially the need of non-instrumental approach to federalism and questioning the claim that liberal democracy as a political regime safeguards the success of federalism.
