Czechoslovakia and European Integration: Legacies of Václav Havel and Václav Klaus in Comparative Perspective
Abstract
Václav Havel and Václav Klaus have belonged to the most influential politicians and thinkers after the Velvet Revolution and their ideas and legacies have strongly influenced the Czech society until today times. In many respects, they represent two antipodes towards a number of political, economic, or ideal issues of the Czechoslovak (Czech) society after Velvet revolution.
As both of them have been active in Czechoslovak (Czech) policy since 1989, their ideas became formative for Czech population and resonate even today. While since the beginning of early 1990s they became irreconcilable opponents in many aspects of policy, ideas etc., they were enforced, as the most influential representatives of the state, to find compromises as well.
The paper will deal particularly with their views of European integration which strongly resonated in Czechoslovak (Czech) society both before admission to European Union in 2004, and after the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union. While Havel has represented positive approaches of the Czech society towards the European integration, Klaus has been until today times more sceptic and his scepticism became even stronger when his presidency ended in 2013.
Ideas of both politicians towards Europe still play the most important role in approaches of the Czech society and political parties, strongly divided to this topic, principally in the lines of Havel's and Klaus' views to it.