Czech Republic

Yearbook

    Transformation of the Czech Republic: New Challenges and Problems
  • The transformation process in the Czech Republic is a complex combination of economic and political dynamics. It represents the same logic that has underlain similar post-1989 processes in other countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). We will first briefly summarise the parameters and...
    East of the West – The Visegrad Four
  • The Karlovy Vary Film Festival always presents a series called ‘East of the West’. The survey that follows will likewise look at the area east of the West, though in the slightly narrower sense of that part of Central Europe otherwise known as the Visegrad Four – the Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
    Reforms in the Czech Republic – Towards Social Darwinism
  • The current situation in the Czech Republic is quite tense. Once again, twenty years after the so-called Velvet Revolution, citizens are asked to “tighten their belts” – however, this time not with the perspective that better times are coming, but that they are definitively behind them. The current...

Focus

    East of the West
  • This analysis has been presented at the International Workshop of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation “On the situation of the left in Europe after the EU elections: New challenges”. July 21-23, 2014, in Berlin
    Czech Republic
  • Election Report 2014 The official results are as follows: Participation 1 528 250 out of 8 395 132 voters, i.e. 18.20% (99.2% valid votes). This is a record low; both in 2009 and 2004 there were over 2 million voters (which is also a very low figure). Parties and elected MEPs ANO (populist, in...

Blog

    The Old-New Czech President
  • On the last weekend of January – and with a record-high turnout of 66% of 8,363,000 registered voters – Czechs chose the man who will be President of the Czech Republic for the next five years.
    A Black Autumn for the Czech Left
  • On 20 and 21 October, parliamentary elections were held in the Czech Republic. The populist ANO 2011 movement managed to gain the largest share of the vote mainly by applying smart marketing strategies during the election campaign. The Czech left, however, follows the European downward trend.
    Nationalism and Xenophobia
  • The EU is facing enormous challenges. The coming months could be crucial in determining the future of the EU and its broad political orientations. The EU is facing an unprecedented series of challenges in particular on security, climate change, migration and the economy. This combination gives an opportunity for populism to rise and spread its venomous rhetoric.
    Regional elections in the Czech Republic
  • Elections to regional councils in the Czech Republic were held in 13 regions (except Prague) on 7 and 8 October 2016*. In one third of constituency's were together with Czech senate elections. In general the results show clear loss for both traditional left-wing parties as well as traditional right-wing parties across Czech Republic.
    Poverty and inequality in the Czech Republic
  • At first sight, according to mostly used indicators, the Czech Republic seems to be a very equal country with low poverty and inequality. However, the real situation is more complex as many citizens find themselves just close behind the poverty threshold.
    Back to the East?
  • The refugee crisis and immigration has opened up old divisions and created new ones between “the West” and “the East” within the European Union. How can this be understood beyond superficial media-ascribed labels?
    Transformation of the Czech Republic
  • The transformation of the Czech Republic, specifically of Czechoslovakia from 1990 to 1992, is a topic that relates not only to economics, but also has legal, social and political aspects. It is subject to many interpretations and also poses a fundamental question: whether the process is complete.
    Czech Labour Dilemmas in 2014
  • Currently, there are two immediate positive steps taken by the new Czech government: they instantly removed the hospital fees of CZK 100 (about 4 Euros) per person daily, and they continued refusing that Czech Post is privatized, as right-wing former governments have promoted in their agendas.
    The Crisis is not Solved, but Rather Intensified
  • After a government crisis in summer, early elections have been proclaimed in the Czech Republic. This weekend was the day D. The campaigning was relatively short and the program documents were to the majority not of much interest.
    Findings of “Social Watch” in Hungary
  • The Party of the European Left organized a mapping of the social situation in various countries of member parties. In April it was Hungary – one of the so called post-communist countries. The author, living in Prague, took the opportunity to compare the Hungarian reality with the situation in the Czech Republic.
    14/17N Day in the Czech Republic
  • With a certain distance, it is now possible to evaluate the participation of Czechs in Europe-wide actions against the advancing policy of cuts and the limitation of democracy. Two views are possible.
    Czech Elections: “No” to Austerity and “Yes” to Strengthening the Left
  • On 12–13 October 2012, elections took place in the Czech Republic. The elections were for regional assemblies and one-third of the Senate. Their political impact could have far-reaching results for the whole of society. They signalled a resounding “no” to cost cutting and complete submission to the demands of the world financial sector for a quick restart of neo-liberal capitalism.

Publication