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2016 | 6 | 162-168

Article title

Стосунки уряду та опозиції в Чехословаччині в кінці 80-х – на початку 90-х років XX ст.

Content

Title variants

EN
Relationship between the Government and the Opposition of Czechoslovakia at the End of 80th Beginning of 90th of XX century

Languages of publication

UK

Abstracts

EN
The study aims to identify of the specific models of cooperation between government and opposition in Czechoslovakia in transition period. In the article the prerequisites of confrontational relationships and their projection on the level of political competition and the formation of new political institutions in terms of democratization are determined. Was proved that the character of the relationship between government and opposition in Czechoslovakia was largely determined by degree of democratization of the regime and the opposition force, it`s goals and strategies. In the late 80th under pressure of the opposition, parties have moved from confrontation to cooperation, what reflected on co-option of the opposition members to the government. However, at the coalition government in fact was no division on pro-government and opposition forces, which made adaptation of opposition to the new socio-political conditions more complicated. A fundamental difference between the relationship of government and opposition in West European countries and Czechoslovakia was noted. In West European countries, the relationship found expression in both legal and political norms. They were characterized by the fact that they are in mutual consent of the parties to act before all in the public interest without going beyond existing law. In Czechoslovakia the main opponents of the ruling forces were communists who had radically different understanding of the main goals of social development. As for the anti-communist opposition, which operated until 1989, its isolation and the virtual disappearance were observed. The elections did not lead to authority post-communist forces, as it were observed in Poland and Hungary. The weakness of the opposition until 1989 gave her little chances at a new political conditions. It was weakened by internal divisions. Against the background of a weak opposition increased level of competition between pro-government parties. This, to some extent, contributed the establishment of new informal rules of electing of the president and prime minister of the federal government. After the first free parliamentary elections, relations between the government and the opposition have changed to a more confrontational with minimal consensus. In Czechoslovakia, in contradistinction to Poland and Hungary, there was no opposition repositioning, i.e. its transformation from outsider of changes of political order to an active participant in the parliament. Post-opposition forces remained weak and separated political entities. In 1991-1992 clear division between progovernment and opposition forces cannot be traced. Blurred boundaries between political opponents were intensified duality of political regime, that combines the features of the previous and democratic, centrifugal tendencies, regionalization of political parties. The competition took the form of real competition within the ruling group, formally differentiated by geographic criteria into two political parties. All this weakens the inter-party competition at the level of «government-parliamentary opposition» at the national level and put the problems of democratization to the second plan, giving priority to processes of formation of independent states of Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Year

Volume

6

Pages

162-168

Physical description

Contributors

  • Східноєвропейський національний університет імені Лесі Українки (Луцьк, Україна)

References

Document Type

Publication order reference

Identifiers

YADDA identifier

bwmeta1.element.desklight-338e728d-91dd-4557-ac06-c7bf54031b74
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