There is no doubt that the country that has developed the most after the division of Czechoslovakia is the Czech republic. Not only economically but also politically. In this essay I will try to explain some of the reasons for this development as well as describing the situation in both countries today.

There are a number of historical reasons for the Czech republic being the more successful beginning with the first Czechoslovak republic founded in 1918 to prevent the Germans from controlling Bohemia. It lasted until 1938 when Hitler annexed it. After the 2nd World War, Czechoslovakia became one of the Soviet Union's satellite states and that's where the real trouble begins. Throughout history, the Czech republic has always been more prosperous and during the Soviet occupation most of the primary production plants were built there. Slovakia had very little industry but is beginning to build more and more. This is of course a big drawback for Slovakia today when it has to import a lot of things that Czechia provided earlier while exporting raw materials almost exclusively. It also lacks foreign investor's to finance industrial plants etc. The economic situation in Slovakia today is rather unstable and the government (which is rather unstable itself) is maintaining the currency artificially. while the Czech republic has a rather stable currency and a fast growing economy (both currencies are worth about the same. 1 USD = 30 SK).

The two "masterminds" behind the split is Vladimir Meciar, the current prime minister of Slovakia and Vaclav Klaus, the prime minister of the Czech republic. Slovak nationalists wanted to be free from Czechia and as prime minister Klaus stated: Without Slovakia, Czechia will achieve a better position in Europe. There was supposed to be a referendum but it was canceled the last minute so the decision was taken without popular majority. The majority of the people was against a division and today 51% of the Slovaks are dissatisfied with it. The division brought on many changes. One example is that people can't travel freely between the two countries anymore. The currency is different and two new minority groups appeared : The Slovaks in the Czech republic and the Czechs in Slovakia. They have to choose their citizenship which is not always easy. Many people in Slovakia feel betrayed when they can't travel to Prague without passport and find themselves stuck in an area which is 3 times smaller than the former Czechoslovakia.

Both Slovakia and the Czech republic are eager aspirants for EU - as well as NATO membership but the chances are not equal. The Czech republic is regarded a potential member of both NATO and EU while Slovakia has to "shape up a bit" and become more democratic before it can join. This won't be easy since prime minister Meciar has stated that he's unwilling to cooperate with other states and prefers to run his own race which he practically does. One example is the privatization process which he has started by almost giving away some of the former state companies to different government members. There is also a great amount of social control and corruption which many analysts have noticed. Some of them even draw parallels to the former Soviet union, a fact that both NATO and EU find alarming.

This is the situation in the two countries today and it will probably show soon if Slovakia can improve enough to join the EU and NATO and thereby get back on its feet again. The Czech republic on the other hand has one of the fastest growing economies in Eastern Europe and will be a strong nation in the future together with Poland.

Sources:

Articles: