Syllabus
1) Politics and Government in Central Europe Before 1918
2) Politics and Government in Central Europe 1918-1939 (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland)
3) Politics and Government in Central Europe During World War II
4) The communist takeovers – sovietization in Central Europe 1944-1948
5) Politics and Government in Central Europe 1944-1989 (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland)
6) Totalitarianism and Authoritarianism in Central Europe
7) The Breakdown of Communist Regimes – Transition to Democracy in Central Europe
8) Politics and Government in Central Europe After 1989 (Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland)
Annotation
This course is an introduction to the modern politics and government of Central Europe in the twentieth century and present. We will examine five periods in the class: 1918-1939 (between World War I and World War II), 1939-1945 (the World War II), 1944-1948 (Sovietization), 1949–1989 (Communist era), after 1989.
All these periods will be studied through a comparative approach. You will not only learn about the most important and contemporary political events but you will also learn to apply basic theories of political science to Central European political practice, or more precisely analyze them by means of these periods.