Transformation process in Slowakia
by Sascha Brier
What
is transformation?
It
is the crossing point, the transition
from
totalitarian regimes to “democracies”.
Totalitarian
regimes can be describes as dictatorships with:
an ideology, that proclaims a final condition – the current form of
society is radically denied
a hierarchical build party, which is being leaded by one person. Only 1/10
of the population is party member.
a terror system that is hostile either towards classes or towards races.
the enemies are chosen arbitrarily
the state elites having a monopoly of news transmission and communication
a monopoly of weapons
a central planed economy
The
post-communist states in Eastern Europe have at least been dictatorships,
a form of totalitarism.
Brief
historical review of the transformation in Slovakia:
Since 1993 Slovakia calls itself the “Republic of Slovakia” (Slovenská Republika), with a democratic constitution also from 1993.
In Czechoslovakia one has to stress two major points regarding the transformation process:
1. the process of democratization – collapse of the old system
2. the break apart of Czech and Slovakia
Ad
1.
Czechoslovakia
(ČSSR), as it existed until the end of 1992, was a relatively young
state. It has been established as a republic in 1918. Prior to this the
three main parts of the later Czechoslovakia – Bohemia, Moravia (often
referred to jointly as the Czech Land - see the Czech Republic of 1993)
and Slovakia have coexisted for more than one thousand years.
By
1948 after WW II the communist were in power in Czechoslovakia following
Soviet communist ideals. As in many other Eastern Europe countries the new
leaders soon introduced major reforms, including nationalization of
industry, collectivization of agriculture and the symbolic five-year plans.
By 1980 everything seemed to be tinkered - and the Czechoslovakian state was in a similar economic position to that of most Soviet bloc countries. The leadership still hoped that some economic reforms and modest political reforms would save them and the System.
In
1989 they condemned out of hand a petition calling for political reform
and signed by more than 10.000 people. It became clear that to many
citizens their own government was much less committed to extensive reform
than was the Soviet.
Many
Czechoslovak citizens defied the authorities and came on to the streets in
August 1989 to commemorate the twenty-first anniversary of the Warsaw
Treaty Organization invasion to their country. These August demonstrations
were followed by far more significant ones in late October and in
mid-November. The October demonstrations and the bigger protests on 17
November, which were initially led by students, were brutally suppressed
by the authorities – further inflaming the already heated situation.
Amid
growing unrest, and with a People´s Militia the could no longer be relied
on to stop mass demonstrations, the whole Central Committee resigned on 24
November. The communists were in total disarray – many Czechoslovak
leaders seemed to have believed that if they made concessions, they would
probably survive the crisis. This only reflects how out of touch they were
with the mood of the masses.
On
December the 28th Dubcek was elected speaker of the
Czechoslovak parliament. And on the following day Vaclav Havel was elected
president of the country.
As
in Poland or Hungary, so in the Czechoslovakia a Round Table had been
formed to discuss the transition from communist power. In January 1990
this Round Table resolved to hold a genuinely contested general election
in the same year.
That
was held in the second week of June: it was a convincing victory for the
CF (Civic Forum which played an important role in the November
demonstrations with Vaclav Havel as one of the leaders) and the PAV
(Public Against Violence). The communists secured only 14 per cent of the
vote for both houses of the Parliament. Czechoslovakia had reached a high
stage of the transition to post-communism, with the masses playing an
important role, and with a relatively peaceful change.
Ad
2.
Until
1989 the world knew the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia (ČSSR).
After the “velvet revolution” to 1992 it has been the Czech and
Slovakian Federal Republic (ČSFR). With the division of the ČSFR
by January 1st the Czech and the Slovakian Republic passed a
doubled transformation.
Even
in the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1939) two economic, political and
social differently structured Regions have been melted. The industrialized
and secularized Bohemia (Böhmen) and Moravia (Mähren) and the solely
agricultural structured and catholic Slovakia.
By
1990 different ideas about the process of economic transformation
separated the Czech and the Slovakian political elites. The total lack of
interest towards the needs
and requirements of Slovakia is one of the essential reasons the regions
broke up.
A far more significant cause for the final division was the inability to pass a new federal constitution. This new constitution was based on the old, still valid constitution. This old constitution prescribed a consensus voting of parliament on important questions (like a new constitution); many small groups of delegates were able to bloc the constitutional amendment, so some did. The political actors, anyway proclaiming their Czech or Slovakian autonomy, got to surface and power. The parliament wasn’t able to neutralize this movement.
Two states were formed of one on January 1st 1993: The Czech Republic (Česká Republika) and the Slovakia Republic (Slovenská Republika).
The Slovakian privatization development went out of course, because of the entanglement of political elites and management of the former state companies which suffered a lack of transparency and therefore confidence of international Investors. That’s why the privatization hasn’t ended yet.
But Slovakia ended up in relative international isolation, not by economic means, but by the political development until today.
Like to get more information about this topic? Send email to: SaschaBrier@gmx.net
