Czech Republic: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
Assorted References
- alcohol consumption
- flag history
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- population and demography
customs and traditions
- family names
- gastronomy
- restaurants
physical geography
- Elbe River
- In Elbe River
- Oder River
- In Oder River
Additional Reading
Geography
General works
There is still a limited number of works that discuss the Czech Republic and Slovakia as separate countries. General descriptive information on the region is available in Sharon L. Wolchik, Czechoslovakia in Transition: Politics, Economics, and Society (1991); and David W. Paul, Czechoslovakia: Profile of a Socialist Republic at the Crossroads of Europe (1981), a brief survey. A brief guide containing all the essentials is Jiri Hochman, Historical Dictionary of the Czech State (1998). Also informative is Daniel Miller, “Czech Republic,” in Richard Frucht (ed.), Eastern Europe: An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture, vol. 2, (2005).
The land and the people
Milan Holeček et al., The Czech Republic in Brief (1995) is a geographical guide. Other basic geographic information is discussed in Jaromír Demek et al., Geography of Czechoslovakia, trans. from Czech (1971). Useful atlases are Jozef Ščipák and Jindřich Svoboda (eds.), Atlas ČSSR, 8th ed. (1984); and Emil MazÚr and Jozef Jakál (eds.), Atlas of the Slovak Socialist Republic (1983). The history of the Roma minority is addressed in Otto Ulč, “Gypsies in Czechoslovakia: A Case of Unfinished Integration,” Eastern European Politics and Societies, 2(2):306–332 (Spring 1988); and Will Guy, Zdenek Uherek, and Renata Weinerova (eds.), Roma Migration in Europe (2004).
The economy, administration, and social conditions
Economic trends are considered in Oldřich Dedek, The Break-Up of Czechoslovakia: An In-Depth Economic Analysis (1996). Karel Dyba, The Czech Republic, 1990–1995: An Economy in Transition (1996), is written by one of the economists chiefly responsible for the Czech Republic’s economic transition. Jaroslav Krejčí, Social Change and Stratification in Postwar Czechoslovakia (1972), is a socioeconomic study of Czechoslovak life in the communist period. The companion volume by the same author, Czechoslovakia 1918–92: A Laboratory for Social Change (1996), should be consulted for its discussion of socioeconomic analysis of the early postcommunist years. Steven Saxonberg, The Czech Republic Before the New Millennium: Politics, Parties, and Gender (2003); and Stefan Auer, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe (2004), address political issues. Election analysis is provided in the comprehensive text Richard Rose, Elections and Parties in New European Democracies (2003).
Cultural life
The Coasts of Bohemia—A Czech History (1998), takes a popular approach, with an emphasis on cultural history. Miloslav Rechcigl, Jr. (ed.), The Czechoslovak Contribution to World Culture (1964), is a collection of essays on all aspects of intellectual life, with an extensive bibliography. Czech and Slovak writers and their works are discussed in Robert B. Pynsent and S.I. Kanikova (eds.), Reader’s Encyclopedia of Eastern European Literature (also published as The Everyman Companion to East European Literature, 1993). Specific studies of music and folk art include Vladimír Štěpánek and Bohumil Karásek, An Outline of Czech and Slovak Music, trans. from Czech, 2 vol. (1960–64); Rosa Newmarch, The Music of Czechoslovakia (1942, reprinted 1978); and Věra Hasalová and Jaroslav Vajdiš, Folk Art of Czechoslovakia, trans. from Czech (1974), on the art and architecture of both Slovaks and Czechs.
History
Concise historical information can be found in Jiří Hochman, Historical Dictionary of the Czech State (1998); and Petr Ornyj, A Brief History of the Czech Lands to 2004 (2003). The best collection of English-language essays on the breakup of Czechoslovakia is Jiří Musil (ed.), The End of Czechoslovakia (1995). The best analysis from the communist perspective is Oskar Krejčí, Czechoslovak National Interests and Reflections on the Demise of Czechoslovak Communism (1996).
Histories of the country’s transition to a market economy and accession to NATO and the EU include Václav Klaus, Renaissance—The Rebirth of Liberty in the Heart of Europe (1997); OECD Economic Surveys—Czech Republic (1995/96–2006); Jiří Vecerník, Markets and People: The Czech Reform Experience in a Comparative Perspective (1996); Martin Myant et al., Successful Transformations?: The Creation of Market Economies in Eastern Germany and the Czech Republic (1996); Jeffrey Simon, NATO and the Czech and Slovak Republics—A Comparative Study in Civil-Military Relations (2004); Alexandra Gheciu, NATO in the “New Europe”—The Politics of International Socialization After the Cold War (2005); Jacques Rupnik, Implications of the Czecho-Slovak Divorce for EU Enlargement (2000); Jiří Krovák (ed.), Current Economics and Politics of (ex-) Czechoslovakia (1994); Jan Švejnar (ed.), The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe (1995); and the country study by World Bank, Czech Republic: Toward EU Accession: Main Report (1999).
Milan HaunerArticle Contributors
Primary Contributors
-
Robert Auty
Professor of Comparative Slavonic Philology, University of Oxford, 1965–78; Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.
- Miroslav Blazek
- Milan Hauner
- Richard Horsley Osborne
- Francis William Carter
-
Z.A.B. Zeman
Emeritus Professor of European History, University of Oxford. Author of The Break-up of the Habsburg Empire, 1914–1918 and others.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Other Contributors
- Jiří Boháč
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Updated currency exchange rate. | Dec 03, 2024 | ||
| Cross-reference added. | Feb 09, 2024 | ||
| Link added. | Apr 28, 2023 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated Head of state. | Mar 16, 2023 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated Head of government. | Jan 19, 2022 | ||
| Modified title of Web site: Official Tourism Site of the Czech Republic. | Mar 10, 2021 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Tourism Site of the Czech Republic. | Jan 31, 2021 | ||
| Add new Web site: Interesting Facts for Kids - Interesting Czech Republic Facts. | Dec 06, 2020 | ||
| Rearrange media. | Dec 06, 2019 | ||
| Country Profile: Expanded country profile. | Jan 30, 2018 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of government. | Dec 07, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | May 24, 2017 | ||
| Added "Czechia" as an informal name. |
|
Dec 13, 2016 | |
| Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Czech Republic. | Dec 06, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids - Czech Republic Facts for Kids. | Dec 06, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Aug 18, 2016 | ||
| In Economy section, added data charts. | Jun 17, 2016 | ||
| Added locator map to the Introduction. | Jun 17, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Jun 17, 2016 | ||
| In People section, added data charts. | Jun 17, 2016 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of state. | May 26, 2016 | ||
| Added video. | Jan 23, 2015 | ||
| Add new Web site: Official Site of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic. | Jan 16, 2014 | ||
| Updated for the October 2013 parliamentary elections. | Oct 28, 2013 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of government. | Jul 10, 2013 | ||
| Updated for the collapse of the Necas government. | Jun 27, 2013 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated head of state. | Mar 08, 2013 | ||
| Country Profile: Changed official name. | Mar 08, 2013 | ||
| Updated for the Czech Republic's first direct presidential election. | Feb 01, 2013 | ||
| Updated for the election of Miloš Zeman as president. | Feb 01, 2013 | ||
| Add new Web site: Maps of World - Czech Republic. | Dec 14, 2012 | ||
| Add new Web site: Jewish Virtual Library - Czech Republic. | Dec 14, 2012 | ||
| Changed "Vladimir Holan" to "Vladimír Holan." | Aug 14, 2012 | ||
| Country Profile: Added name of head of state and head of government, along with urban-rural, life expectancy, literacy, and GNI per capita statistics. | Feb 27, 2012 | ||
| National anthem added. | Dec 21, 2010 | ||
| Country Profile: Reviewed and updated Official name. | Nov 29, 2010 | ||
| Updated with the formation of the country's new centre-right government. | Jul 13, 2010 | ||
| Changed "The Netherlands" to "the Netherlands." | Jun 22, 2010 | ||
| Country Profile: Updated area and population figures. | Mar 12, 2010 | ||
| Updated with the Czech Republic's ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. | Nov 03, 2009 | ||
| Updated with the installation of an interim prime minister, as well as with the refusal of Czech president to sign the EU's Lisbon Treaty. | May 11, 2009 | ||
| Added new Web site: National Geographic - Travel and Cultures - Czech Republic. | Apr 17, 2009 | ||
| Updated with collapse of Czech government. | Mar 25, 2009 | ||
| Updated political process. | Jul 30, 2008 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Jul 30, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the City of Czech Republic. | Oct 18, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Lonely Planet - Czech Republic. | Oct 18, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Public Broadcasting Service - Czech Republic. | Oct 18, 2007 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | Aug 27, 2007 | ||
| Retitled article. | Aug 27, 2007 | ||
| Bibliography revised and updated. | Aug 27, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Official Site of the Czech Republic. | Jul 26, 2007 | ||
| Added new Web site: Library of Congress - Czech Republic - Selected Internet Resources. | Aug 08, 2006 | ||
| Added new Web site: Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - Czechia. | Jul 26, 2006 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 23, 1998 |