Abstract
The Velvet Revolution (1989) marks a turning point in recent Czech history. It was a non-violent transition of power from a one-party system governed by the Communist Party to a democratic political system.
A leading role in the revolution was played by students and popular protests against the authoritarian system of politics and law. But beneath these visible events another process also took place: a change of the economic system, which can be characterized as a move from a planned economy to a liberal economic system, or, in short, to capitalism.
This transition to a capitalist economy was marked by the emergence of new social classes that were enriched by the new economy: in part, the new middle class, but above all the new capitalists and oligarchs. This paper will examine this rise of the oligarchs and of a new system of politics and economy after 1989.
Understanding this profound process explains the contemporary situation in the Czech Republic, which is in many respects similar to the situation in other Central European countries like Poland and Hungary. This situation is possible to describe as a situation of corrupted democracy.
This paper tries to answer why this came be. In order to describe and analyze this process, I will apply Jeffrey Winters' theory of oligarchy.
I will show to what extent we can speak about an oligarchical order in contemporary Czech society.