Nationalism and the disintegration of multi-ethnic federations in post-communist eastern Europe: |the case of Czechoslovakia

Abstract

Since its foundation in 1918 Czechoslovakia had tried to sol ve the problems created by the association of the two different ethnic groups, namely Czechs and Slovaks. Policies pursued during the interwar and communist periods to achieve national integration and unity failed and ethnic tensions between the Czech and Slovaks dominated the political agenda in the post-communist Czechoslovakia until the eventual partition of the state. This study looks at the development of the Czech-Slovak relations during the interwar, communist and post-communist periods. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia was to a large extent the outcome of the rise of the long- suppressed nationalist tension, the studies on nationalism are also critically examined with the aim of building a conceptual and theoretical framework. Marxist approaches to national problem are analyzed to better comprehend and evaluate the strategies adopted during the communist period, including the federal structure, to deal with the national question. In addition to the ethnic conflict, political, structural and economic factors, which acted as catalysts in the break-up of the state, are also given consideration. In this study, it is argued that the disintegration of the Czechoslovakia was to a significant extent the result of the differences in views and objectives of the Czechs and Slovaks which reflect historical differences in levels of development, cultural traditions and political experiences of the two groups.