Czech Republic
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ez.html
The Czech Republic was established January 1, 1993 (former Czechoslovak state established
1918) The majority of the 10.5 million inhabitants of the Czech -- The Czech Republic
was the western part of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic. Republic are ethnically
and linguistically Czech.Formed into a common state after World War I (October 18,
1918), the Czechs, Moravians, and Slovaks remained united for more than 75 years.
On January 1, 1993, the two republics split to form two separate states.
Czechs and Slovaks-- Despite cultural differences, the Slovaks shared with
the Czechs similar aspirations for independence from the Hapsburg state and voluntarily
united with the Czechs. The Slovaks were not at the same level of economic and technological
development as the Czechs, but the freedom and opportunity found in Czechoslovakia
enabled them to make strides toward overcoming these inequalities. However, the gap
never was fully bridged, and the discrepancy played a continuing role throughout
the 75 years of the union.
Although Czechoslovakia was the only East European country to remain a parliamentary
democracy from 1918 to 1938, it was plagued with minority problems, the most important
concerning the country's large German population. Constituting more than 22% of the
interwar state's population and largely concentrated in the Bohemian and Moravian
border regions (the Sudetenland), members of this minority supported in large part
by Nazi Germany undermined the new Czechoslovak state. Internal and external pressures
culminated in September 1938, when, at Munich, France, and the United Kingdom yielded
to Nazi pressures and agreed to force Czechoslovakia to cede the Sudetenland to Germany.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS AND GOVERNMENT-- The Czech political scene supports a broad spectrum of parties ranging from the semi-reformed communist party on the far left to the nationalistic Republican Party on the extreme right. The ruling coalition includes several prominent economists and derives support mainly from the free market reforms they advocate.
FOREIGN RELATIONS --Fundamental to foreign policy objective is Czech membership in the European Union. The government has met most EU demands. Although there have been disagreements over someeconomic issues, such as agricultural tariffs, the EU has signed various association agreements with the Czech Government designed to facilitate membership. The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. It is a member of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). It maintains diplomatic relations with more than 85 countries, of which 63 have permanent representation in Prague.
U.S.-CZECH RELATIONS ---Millions of Americans have their roots in Bohemia and Moravia, and a large community in the United States has strong cultural and familial ties with the Czech Republic. The U.S. Government has actively encouraged the political and economic ransformation. U.S. funding has been in the range of $30-$35 million annually, largely regional programs administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Although the U.S. Government was originally opposed to the idea of Czechoslovakia forming two separate states, concerned that the split might aggravate existing regional political tensions, it recognized both the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993. Since then, U.S.-Czech relations have remained strong economically, politically, and culturally.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+cs0097)
Another essential ingredient in Czechoslovak political culture has been the varying political aspirations of the nation's two major ethnic groups, the Czechs and the Slovaks (see Ethnic Groups , ch. 2). Slovaks were never as satisfied as the Czechs with the nation created in 1918 because they felt dominated by the numerically superior Czech nationals. Slovak nationalists fought diligently throughout the 1920s for greater Slovak autonomy, and in the next decade they succeeded in obtaining constitutional changes granting more autonomy to Slovakia. In March 1939, Slovakia, encouraged by Hitler, seceded from the new state and allied itself with Germany, calling itself the Slovak Republic. Although nominally independent under the leadership of Monsignor Jozef Tiso, the new Slovak state in reality functioned as a Nazi satellite. After Hitler's defeat, Slovakia was reunited with the Czech lands.
The communist takeover in 1948 did not lead to equitable treatment of Czechs and Slovaks. The Stalinist purges of the early 1950s were particularly harsh on Slovaks; indeed, the definition of "bourgeois nationalism" coincided quite precisely with the aspirations of Slovak nationalism. Among the Slovak leaders arrested and jailed in the early 1950s was Gustav Husak. Husak later was rehabilitated and eventually named general secretary (the title changed from first secretary in 1971) of the KSC and president of the republic.
Slovak aspirations for greater autonomy played an important role in the political environment during the 1960s. The reform movement associated with the Prague Spring advocated greater independence for Slovakia. The 1968 constitutional amendments redefined Czechoslovakia as a federation of two equal states, the Czech nation and the Slovak nation, and increased theresponsibilities of the constituent republics. However, this decentralization of power did not survive the 1968 invasion and subsequent normalization policies. On paper, the federation remained and the Slovak Socialist Republic retained its separate communist party organization and republic-level government organs. In practice, whatever power the 1968 amendments gave to the Slovaks was diminished when the Husak regime reestablished centralized party and government control in the 1970s.
Current News
Czech anarchists, skinheads clash in Prague
(http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9905/01/BC-CZECH-RIOT.reut/index.html
)
May 1, 1999. PRAGUE, Czech Republic (Reuters) -- Police arrested dozens of anarchists
and ultra-right skinheads on Saturday after the two groups clashed during May Day
demonstrations in central Prague, Czech Television reported. Video showed hundreds
of youths facing off in front of the Czech National Theatre as lines of polic riot
squads, some on horseback, attempted to keep the two demonstrations separated As
police tried to disperse the groups with truncheons and horses, some of the broke
away and overturned several police cars. Small petrol bombs were also thrown lighting
fires in the street. The groups were finally separated and the demonstrations continued
in other parts of city. There were no reports of serious injuries It appeared to
be the most violent clash the two groups of extremists, made up mostly of teenagers
and young adults, since the 1989 democratic revolution ended four decades hard-line
Communist rule.
Policies
1. NATO Expansion Flashpoint No. 1 ( http://www.cato.org/pubs/fpbriefs/fpb-044.html
)
According to the writer, the decision to invite Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic
to join NATO creates the prospect of far-reaching, dangerous security obligations
for the United States in Eastern Europe. Part of NATO's expanded defensive perimeter
will lie along the border between Poland and Belarus. That should greatly concern
all Americans, because Belarus is a political and economic volcano waiting to erupt.
The repressive, erratic regime of Alexander Lukashenko and the country's moribund
economy provide ideal conditions for the same type of armed chaos that has engulfed
such countries as Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Zaire. If Belarus explodes,
Poland is going to expect help from its NATO allies to contain the effects and protect
Polish security. At the very least, that would mean a Bosnia-style morass for NATO.
Even worse, Belarus is Russia's last remaining security ally in Eastern Europe, and
the two countries are closely linked politically and militarily by a treaty approved
in the spring of 1997. A NATO military presence along the Polish-Belarusian border,
much less any attempted coercion of Belarus by NATO, risks a collision with a nuclear-armed
Russia. The dangerous situation in Belarus is one reason among many why the U.S.
Senate should reject the proposal to expand NATO.
2. NATO Expansion Flashpoint No. 2(http://www.cato.org/pubs/fpbriefs/fpb-045es.html
)
The decision to invite Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic to join NATO
creates the prospect of U.S. involvement in an assortment of nasty ethnic disputes
throughout Central and Eastern Europe. Although some advocates of NATO expansion
are motivated by a desire to discourage future Russian imperial ambitions, article
5 of the North Atlantic Treaty obligates signatories to assist a fellow member that
falls victim to aggression from any source. That obligation should trouble all Americans.
One of the proposed new members, Hungary, has long-standing problems with three of
its neighbors because of discrimination against ethnic Hungarians living in those
countries. Tensions are especially acute between Hungary and Serbia over Belgrade's
continuing mistreatment of Hungarian citizens in Serbia's province of Vojvodina.
If those tensions escalate, NATO could find itself entangled in an armed conflict
between Hungary and Serbia. Such a struggle would have no relevance to important
American interests, but the United States would be under intense pressure to assist
its new ally lest the credibility of the security commitments being extended to the
incoming NATO members be fatally undermined. The prospect of U.S. forces' slipping
into a Bosnia-style morass on the Hungarian-Serbian border is one reason among many
that the U.S. Senate should refuse to ratify the proposal to expand NATO.
3. U.S. Policy Toward Northeastern Europe (http://www.foreignrelations.org/public/pubs/baltics.html#curpol)
Czech Republic
- This is an CIA’s country information on Czech Republic.
Czechoslovakia -
This is a detailed country study of former Czechoslovakia.
Austria and Czechs - This document depicts the relation between Austria and Czechs.
Czechs
-Full explanation about the nation ‘Czechs".
Slovaks
-Information on the Slovak nation.
German-Czech Declaration
on Mutual Relations and their Future Development -The Governments
of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Czech Republic made a declaration on their
relation and future development.
Czech Republic Officially
Becomes OECD Member -The Czech Republic officially became the 26th
Member country of the OECD on 21 December 1995.
Czech
Republic: A Case Model -A review of the economic transformation of
the Czech Republic.
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary: Recent Developments -Current Political and Economic Issues Foreign Policy Issues and U.S.-Czech Relation
10
Good Reasons to Invest the Czech Republic -Here are highlighted ten
important reasons why you should consider investing in the Czech Republic.
Human
Rights Developments-- Czech Republic - The human rights situation
in the Czech Republic.