ABSTRACT
The concept of liberalism has been always a strange, although dominant, ideology in Central Europe. Looking at the history of political ideas in the Czech lands, Hungary, Poland, or Slovakia, one can trace back elements of liberal thinking even before the period of Revolution 1848/1849, and when taking into account thinkers in exile as well, one can say that liberalism has not disappeared ever since. The role of liberalism, liberal ideology, and liberal thought in Czech politics represents an interesting example of originally imported and by further development fairly modified and disintegrated idea. The emergence of the pure liberal party was connected with the split of the National Party and the creation of National Liberal Party nicknamed "Young Czechs". The origins of liberal parties operating in Central Europe in the early 1990s were pretty varied. Liberal politicians could be found in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and more or less in Poland inside mass umbrella democratization movements.
