Analyses of The First Elections in the New Republic, 1992-1996

Mansfeldová, Z. (ed.) 2003. Czech Republic: The First Elections in the New Republic, 1992-1996. Analyses, Documents and Data. Serie WZB: Founding Elections in Eastern Europe. Berlin: edition sigma.

The analyses presented in the book Czech Republic – 1992 and 1996 Elections focuses on the elections in 1992 and 1996 to the Czech Parliament and two legislative terms in a wider framework of legislative changes. It simultaneously examines political climate and voting support, searches for social consensus, government formation and regional differences in election outcomes and reflects upon the perspectives of democracy in the Czech Republic.

On the background of two above-mentioned elections the work considers the development of competitive system of political parties. At this point, it is possible to say that the party system crystallization in the sense of interest-class-party-linkage and the class-party-cleavages is gradual, although unfinished process. This leads to following question: what linkages and cleavages the crystallization was based on, what kinds of cleavages showed in the first years of transformation, who represented them and what is the basis of party system stabilization.

Publication also investigates the importance of electoral results for the establishment of the types of cabinets, their emergence, maintenance and falls. And tries to explain reasons, while given the current conditions of electoral system to the Chamber of Deputies, there are a vital risk of governmental instability and impotence.

Aside from expected consequences such as e.g. issues related to composition of the government. We also analyze unexpected and an unintended result of elections such was the breakdown of the Czechoslovak Federation after the 1992 elections and the establishment of the independent Czech Republic. The breakdown itself was connected with the implementation of new constitution based on two-chamber Parliament. For this reason the book studies long and often conflicting discussions concerning Czech electoral system and the first elections to the Upper Chamber – The Senate.