A3 Czech Politics

Tomáš Kostelecký

Tuesday, April 4 10:30 am – 12 pm


Lecture provides students with the basic information about the party development in the Czech Republic after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989. The key moments of party formation after 1989 are described. Ideological profiles and organizational structures of main parties are presented, special attention is paid to the political consequences of weak party membership. Main political cleavages in the Czech Republic are illustrated and the position of main parties in political space is explained. The latest development towards presidentialism and towards restructuring of the party system is presented.

Readings:

Kostelecký, T., 2002. Political parties after communism: developments in East-Central Europe. Woodrow Wilson Center Press.

Rybář, M., 2014. The Czech presidential elections, January 2013: Towards a more powerful head of state?. Electoral Studies, 100(35), pp.378-381.

Stegmaier, M. and Linek, L., 2014. The parliamentary election in the Czech Republic, October 2013. Electoral Studies, 100(35), pp.385-388.