Historical Dictionary of the Czech State

Czechoslovakia has been at the center of some of the most difficult—and tragic—episodes of modern European history: its sacrifice to Nazi Germany at Munich; the Communist Coup of 1948; and the military crushing of the Prague Spring. It has also enacted momentous change almost magically, as in the peaceful overthrow of communism in 1989, and then the negotiated end to the country in 1992. Czechoslovak history has consequently produced enduring political metaphors for our times, such as the Velvet Revolution and Velvet Divorce.

The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Czech State has been thoroughly updated and greatly expanded. Featuring a chronology, introductory essay, appendix, bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries, this detailed, authoritative reference provides understandings of the Czechs as a people; the territory they inhabit; their social, cultural, political, and economic developments throughout history; and interactions with their neighbors and the wider world.

Rick Fawn is senior lecturer in International Relations at the University of St Andrews and editor of Ideology and National Identity in Post-Communist Foreign Policies. He is the author of The Czech Republic: A Nation of Velvet.

Jiri Hochman was a leading journalist in Czechoslovakia who now lives in the United States after having been forced to leave during the repressive aftermath of the Prague Spring reforms of 1968. Among his numerous publications is The Failure of Collective Security, 1934-1938, and he co-authored, with Alexander Dubcek, the autobiography of this leader of the Prague Spring, which has been translated into 16 languages.