The Origin of the Czech and Slovak Pluralist Party Systems

Abstract

The article analyzes the process of pluralistic party system renewal in Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism in 1989. It shows the initial conditions and major actors, as well as factors that infl uenced party system structure and behaviour in the environment of a post-communist society without a recent democratic tradition. Special attention is devoted to the differences between Czech and Slovak party systems, as both parts of the former united Czechoslovakia demonstrated differences in their respective party systems both before and after 1989. After the introduction of key political parties, the results of 1990 general parliamentary election and its impact on the party system are analyzed.