Split of Czechoslovakia as One of the Outcomes and Results of the Transition to Democracy?
Split of Czechoslovakia as One of the Outcomes and Results of the Transition to Democracy?

Summary/Abstract: The text examines one of the instruments of Czechoslovak (federal) constitutional system called prohibition of outnumbering (sometimes called prohibition of majorization). Originally designed in 1968 as a procedure to stabilize federal legislature, however, it could never proof its effectiveness due to non-democratic nature of the regime before 1989. After the transition to democracy in 1989, it became obvious that this tool cannot work effectively under democratic conditions, in the situation when political parties – Czech and Slovak – act autonomously. Author concludes that it was the existence of the prohibition of outnumbering / majorization (among others) and its application in democratic regime that led to more complicated relations between Czechs and Slovaks on federal level and acted more as an obstacle rather then stabilizer. This ultimately led to the split of Czechoslovakia.

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