The “Velvet Split ” of Czechoslovakia (1989‑1992)

Authors

  • Jan Rychlík Charles University, Prague

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.15.2018.57.10

Keywords:

Czechoslovakia, Velvet Split

Abstract

The elections in June 1992 brought to power Vladimir Meciar‘s Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) in Bratislava and Vaclav Klaus‘ Civic Democratic Party (ODS) in Prague. In the concept of HZDS the idea of a parity (which is impossible to achieve between two units of differing size) gradually came to be associated with the concept of “Slovak sovereignty” and Slovakia’s “international legal subjectivity”, both incompatible with Czechoslovakia’s further existence. Such confederative model brought Czechs nothing but troubles. Subsequently, Prague now lost interest in keeping Slovakia within the Czechoslovak state. The result was “the velvet divorce” of Czechoslovakia on 31 December 1992.

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Author Biography

  • Jan Rychlík, Charles University, Prague

    is a regular professor of Czech and Slovak modern history at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague and external professor of modern world history at the Faculty of Humanities, Pedagogy and Natural Sciences of the Technical University in Liberec. He is the chairman of the Czech part of Czech‑Slovak/ Slovak‑Czech Historical Commission. He is specialized in history of Central Europe and the Balkan countries.

References

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Kováč M., Pamäti. Môj príbeh občana a prezidenta, Dunajská Lužná 2010.

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Rychlík J., Češi a Slováci ve 20. století. Spolupráce a konflikty, Praha 2012.

Rychlík J., Rozdělení Československa 1989‑1992, Praha 2013.

Sbírka zákonů (Collection of Laws), vol. 1968, 1989‑1992.

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Press:

Literárny týždenník (Bratislava), vol. 1991.

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Mladá fronta Dnes (Prague), vol. 1992

Slovenské listy (Prague), vol. 1994.

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Published

13-08-2018

How to Cite

“The ‘Velvet Split ’ of Czechoslovakia (1989‑1992)”. 2018. Politeja 15 (6(57): 169-87. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.15.2018.57.10.