The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and Central Planning: Between the Imperative of Power and Economic Rationality
Abstract
The article deals with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia's role in the country's centrally planned economy during the late 1980s. It looks into the mechanisms of implementation of the party's constitutional "leading role" in steering the economy.
Also, it examines how the party's role was perceived among the members of the nomenclature in the party's Central Committee as well as at its regional organisations and by the management of economic enterprises. For these purposes, the text analyses archival documents of the Politburo and other Central Committee institutions.
In addition, semi-structured interviews with former party members on the regional level and with former economic players on the level of the enterprises were conducted. The article shows that the party's role was divisive for both the society and the party itself.
The Central Committee was divided into ideological hardliners and members dealing with the real economy issues. It concludes with identifying of four roles, which the party implemented and points to the considerable level of voluntarism in the individual player's actions.