Bedachtzame revolutionairen (Cautious revolutionaries) analyzes debates among the opposition in Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the last fifteen years of communist... Show moreBedachtzame revolutionairen (Cautious revolutionaries) analyzes debates among the opposition in Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) during the last fifteen years of communist rule. It compares how during the 1970s and 1980s the East German and Czech opposition movements debated several issues (the relevance of socialism, the tension between peace and human rights, cultural criticism and environmental activism), how they reacted to the Soviet reforms that from 1985 onwards changed the political landscape in Central and Eastern Europe, and, finally, how they acted during the breakdown of the communist regimes in 1989. Contrary to what current historiography suggests, this book argues that reform socialism, cultural criticism and a critical attitude towards Western consumer society and party democracy were not themes unique for the East German opposition. However, the division of Germany and the permanent flow of emigration to the West did have a decisive impact on the social composition and political outlook of the opposition in the GDR, which, unlike the Czechs, almost completely lacked leading intellectuals and was far more optimistic about the prospects of a reformed socialism. Show less
Historically, the Czech experience with Islam was mainly influenced by the ‘Turkish Menace’ (the 150-year Ottoman presence in Hungary, including land which later became southern Slovakia, and the... Show moreHistorically, the Czech experience with Islam was mainly influenced by the ‘Turkish Menace’ (the 150-year Ottoman presence in Hungary, including land which later became southern Slovakia, and the two Ottoman sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683). Due to its geographical location and the nature of its historical development, however, the territory of historical Czech Lands (Bohemia and Moravia) never actually had direct contact with Islamic civilization. Show less
