체코슬로바키아 ‘벨벳혁명’의 경제, 사회적 요인 분석

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to answer to the following three questions about the Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution. First, for what reason, in Czechoslovakia, liberalization and democratization did not proceed step by step, but suddenly the two steps proceeded simultaneously? Second, why did the communist regime, which maintained tight control and maintained a much better standard of living and economy than other communist countries, did not stop the cry of anti-communist forces and society? Finally, can the velvet revolution be defined as a revolution in the classical sense? If so, what is the essence of the Velvet Revolution?<BR> To find the answers to the above questions, the text is organized as follows. In Section 2, I look back on the historical process of the Velvet Revolution around November 17, 1989, and explain why the revolution began on this day. In Section 3, I look for the essential factors that led to the occurrence of the Velvet Revolution in terms of economics. I emphasize that the existing research that finds the cause of the anti-communist revolution and system transformation in the socialist economic system by grasping the economy and living standard of the communist system does not apply to Czechoslovakia. In Section 4, I find the cause of the revolution in the social aspect, and above all emphasize that the legacy of democracy, liberalism, individualism, and pluralism during the interwar period was an important motive for moving away from the false life of the communist system and moving toward ‘a living in true.’ In the concluding remarks of Section 5, I summarize the causes of the Czechoslovakia’s regime transition and present which factors exerted greater influence compared to others.