The Prague Spring and Its Aftermath: Czechoslovak Politics, 1968-1970

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.


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


Book Description


The Prague Spring of 1968 was among the most important episodes in post-war European politics - one of the few pre-Gorbachev attempts to reform one party communist rule. In this book Kieran Williams analyses the attempt at reform under Alexander Dubcek and its suppression by the Soviet Union using archive materials and other sources which 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.