Introduction
Chapter 1. Czech Statehood and the Birth of Czechoslovakia,
Ladislav Cabada
Chapter 2. The Czechoslovak Republic in the International Politics
of the Interwar Period, Ladislav Cabada
Chapter 3. From "Munich" to the Renewal of Czechoslovakia, Ladislav
Cabada
Chapter 4. Czechoslovakia in a Divided Europe: The Formation of
Czechoslovak Foreign Policy after WWII and Relations with its
Neighbours and Superpowers during the Cold War, Šárka Waisová
Chapter 5. Regional Cooperation in Central Europe and Beyond: The
Czech Republic as a Member of Regional Organisations, Šárka
Waisová
Chapter 6. The Czech Republic and Foreign Development Cooperation:
from Donor to Recipient and Back, Šárka Waisová
Chapter 7. The War on Terror and Dilemmas in Czech Foreign Policy:
Atlanticism? Anti-Americanism? Europeanisation?, Šárka Waisová
Chapter 8. Dissident Tradition in Czech Foreign Policy: Twenty
Years After Still Matters, Šárka Waisová
Chapter 9. The Czech Republic and the Humanitarian Challenges of
International Politics: An Analysis of the Nature of Czech Foreign
Policy, Šárka Waisová
Conclusion
Ladislav Cabada is associate professor at the Metropolitan University, Prague. Sárka Waisová is associate professor at the Metropolitan University, Prague.
Political scientists Cabada and Waisová have authored a book that
centers on forces, events, and issues long addressed by scholars:
Austrian imperial rule over the Czechs up to WW I; the interwar
period marked by growing political instability in then independent
Czechoslovakia against the backdrop of fascism menacing Europe;
Nazi Germany's absorption of the Czech lands and its domination of
nominally independent Slovakia; Soviet hegemony in Eastern and
Central Europe (including the reconstituted Czechoslovakia) from
the end of WW II until the dissolution of the Soviet empire and the
Soviet Union itself, marking the end of the Cold War; and the
post-Cold War period to the present, with the Czechs and Slovaks
split apart once again and their two sovereignties incorporated
into the EU and NATO. This anguishing history has shaped Czech
perspectives and actions in the international sphere. Czech foreign
policy continues to evoke the principal lesson drawn from Jaroslav
Ha^Dvsek's great novel The Good Soldier Schweik: be compliant, not
overtly rebellious in the face of insurmountable external pressures
and threats. The book will appeal mostly to specialists on Czech
and central European affairs. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and
professional collections.
*CHOICE*
Written by distinguished experts in the field, this book offers
rich and correct information as well as a deep understanding of
history and the contemporary position, priorities, and ways of
Czechoslovak and Czech foreign policy since the birth of
Czechoslovakia from the First World War to present times. Clear in
the structure, comprehensive in the scope, accessible in the style
and, detailed in analysis, this book is a must for any reader who
would like to get solid knowledge and orientation not only in Czech
foreign policy but also in the broader context of Central European
international relations in the present and recent past.
*Vit Houek, Masaryk University, Czech Republic*
Cabada and Waisová create a great mixture of historical and
chronologically arranged chapters and sections that are
thematically organized. They provide a valuable and interesting
contribution based on a unique Czech perspective and they remind us
of the value of a single-country book. Cabada and Waisová
skillfully navigate the terrain of showing their true colors and at
the same time, providing a good model to follow for works anchored
in non-globally-western, non-globally-northern perspectives.
*Melinda Kovács, Sam Houston State University*
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