ABSTRACT
Parliaments and elections, two of the critical features of democratic political systems, can help build unity within the state. These instruments help build societal unity out of diversity, as they simultaneously help build policy agreements out of disagreements. Though the authoritarian political systems of Central Europe collapsed within a single year, the construction and development of a democratic political system is taking much longer. Everything is in flux. The new constitutions are largely unwritten, leaving relationships among president, parliament, and government undefined. In newly active legislatures of post-authoritarian countries, especially critical elements include committees, rules, and procedures, and relationships with the government. This review of the Czechoslovakian Federal Assembly will begin with its distinctive bicameral and party structure. The most unusual feature of the Federal Assembly was its practice of bicameralism. Bicameralism was based upon the federal structure of the state. The unicameral practices of the Federal Assembly began with their equal powers.
