Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic in World Politics

The book Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic in World Politics is designed for use in courses on Czech and Central European politics for foreign students participating on various study programs at the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. Unlike a number of such textbooks, we believe it is necessary and possible to introduce students to the literature on Czech, Czechoslovak and Central European politics, history and society. Our goal, therefore, is to provide the basic theoretical and conceptual tools required to make some further research and analysis in this issue area. The goal of the book is not to present result of neither research activities nor comprehensive monograph, the goal of the book is to help to understand the evolution of Central Europe and the role and position of Czech Republic in world politics. This book devotes a significant amount of space to the historical development of Czech and Czechoslovak politics and of Central European region. We believe that in order to understand the functioning and future development of (Central) Europe, a basic understanding of its societal, economic and political processes is an imperative. The book can offer the general information about the past political, societal, economic and historical processes in Czech Republic and Central Europe, and can open the space for future, deeper interest about the issue.