ABSTRACT
The evolution of Czechoslovakia and its two successor states between 1989 and 1996 provides some unique lessons about the relationship between domestic politics, civil-military relations, and regional relations, both in comparison with the country's European neighbors and with democratizing states around the globe. This chapter begins with an outline of the civil-military and ethnic dimensions of the situation in Czechoslovakia prior to 1989, as background for discussion of the post-transition period. It then examines the domestic and international context, civil-military relations and regional relations in post-Communist Czechoslovakia, in the Czech Republic, and finally in Slovakia. The cases of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia in the post-1989 period illustrate the divergent paths of post-Communist politics and the development of different forms of civil-military relations. Finally, the chapter summarizes the patterns observed and offers some explanations for the countries' differences.
