The Prague Spring and its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968-1970 (Paperback)

by Kieran Williams (Author) "For all their many virtues, the reforms of 1968, in intention and execution, amounted to only the liberalization of a Leninist regime, the gradual widening..." (more)
Key Phrases: obshchii otdel, leading secretaries, next plenum, Soviet Union, National Front, Prague Spring (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Williams's study is richly detailed, clearly written and organized, and focuses mostly on political elites. It provides new information for specialists as well as insight to those who come to the topic for the first time." Choice

"This book is, however, distinctive in its thorough use of Czechoslovak archival sources, which offer striking documentation of the attitudes of the principal actors in the story." H. Gordon Skilling, American Historical Review

"...Williams skillfully reconstructs the events leading up to the August 1968 invasion and the period of `normalization' that followed." Fred Eidlin, Slavic Review

Product Description
The Prague Spring of 1968 was among the most important episodes in postwar European politics--one of the few pre-Gorbachev attempts to reform one-party communist rule. In this book Kieran Williams analyzes the attempt at reform under Alexander Dubcek and its suppression by the Soviet Union, using archive materials and other sources that have become available in the wake of the 1989 revolution. The book will provide new information for specialists as well as introductory analysis and narrative for students of East European politics and history and Soviet foreign policy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (October 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521588030
• ISBN-13: 978-0521588034
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #449,418 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Necessary for those who teach or study the Prague Spring., May 7, 1998

By	Tim Snyder ([e-mail]) (Cambridge, MA, USA) - See all my reviews

Kieran Williams has produced the best available summary and analysis of the high politics of the Prague Spring and the "normalization" which followed the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia of August 1968. While the book is of an appropriate length and style for interested readers and undergraduates, its impressive use of archival materials (in Russian, Czech, Slovak, and German) and its careful argumentation make it required reading for historians and political scientists as well. Williams succeeds in unpacking the various components of Czechoslovak reform communism, in explaining the ways in which Dubcek and his allies violated Soviet expectations, and in describing the creep of "normalization." In so doing, he dissolves several myths. No reader of this book will believe that the Soviet-led intervention was an immediate success, nor that Czechs and Slovaks lacked the idealism needed to resist communism. Williams reminds us that Dubcek was in power for as long after the invasion as he was before it, and that "normalization" began with the voluntary compromises by society which he requested. Williams also demonstrates a good sense of proportion: he uses theories of political sciences, but has clearly selected from a wide corpus rather than relying upon what is presently fashionable; he points up where previous analysis were mistaken, but does so economically; he compares reform communism in Czechoslovakia to that of Gorbachev, but without pressing the point; he describes the brutality of the Soviet occupiers, while letting the details speak for themselves. Some of the book's specific arguments are unpersuasive, and its major flaw is the lack of an introduction that would remind the reader of the major events to be discussed, and of a conclusion which would review the major arguments, emphasize what is new in the analysis, and recount how theories of political science relate to the narrative. All in all, however, an excellent book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dubcek No Hero, January 6, 2001

By	H. Campbell (houston, texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Though I enjoy academic history books, Williams' style is at tinme too scholarly. I would have enjoyed more examples of a personal nature, such as when Williams briefly describes the local efforts to resist Soviet soldiers' brutality. This is a minor criticism, however. I found the politics fascinating, but no Czech or Slovak leader, perhaps most especially Dubcek, is left unscathed by the damning record of vacillation, subtle and often blatant deception, and finally capitulation("realism") and corrosive accommodation. Williams' ends his book most fittingly, with a quote from Czech students after Jan Palach's suicide that sums up the sorry story of a quest for liberty without commitment or sacrifice.I also found the underlying tension between Slovak and Czech most enlightening, and goes a long way to understanding the always subsurface resentment that ultimately led to the "Velvet Divorce," which may have its roots in the Prague Spring debacle.This book is a must for anyone interested in the local intrigues in this seminal event of the Cold War, but Williams only lightly touches on many other interesting issues that have yet to coalesce in a definitive treatment.