Czechoslovakia's "Velvet Divorce," Visegrad Cohesion, and European Fault Lines

Abstract

The separation of the Czech and Slovak Federated Republic (CSFR) into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993 did not just draw a new state boundary at the Moravian-Slovak border. The psychological and regional security implications of the split are much greater: it has caused realignment in Central New borders have caused the Czech Republic to turn westward, weakening the Visegrad Group and creating the potential for isolating Slovakia with reverberations extending to Ukraine. Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary created the Visegrad triangle on 15 February 1991 to demonstrate the ability of the three to overcome historical differences and to coordinate their eventual return to Europe. (1) This was to be achieved by joining Western institutions such as the European Community (EC) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (2) During most of 1990, 74 percent of the CSFR's 2,141-mile border was with then Warsaw Pact allies Poland (813 miles) and East Germany (285 miles) in the north, Hungary (420 miles) in the south, and the Soviet Union (61 miles) in the east. Between East and West it shared borders with the core of both alliances' Central Regions; the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany (221 miles). (3) CSFR Foreign Minister Jiri Dienstbier argued that Czechoslovakia's role was to cooperate within the triangle and to act as a bridge between West and East. This policy remained in force through the fall of 1991. Geopolitical Transformation The geopolitical situation was radically altered by the unification of Germany on 3 October 1990, the final withdrawal of the Soviet Central Group of Forces from Czechoslovakia in June 1991, the termination of the Warsaw Pact on 1 July 1991, and the disintegration of the former Soviet Union at the end of 1991. Germany's unification had significant ramifications for the CSFR. The German Democratic Republic disappeared, expanding the CSFR's border with NATO Germany to 506 miles; and, as a result of the Four-plus-Two Agreement, the CSFR could now anticipate the withdrawal of the Western Group of Soviet Forces from Germany by 1994. The final withdrawal of the Soviet military from Czechoslovakia and formal termination of the Warsaw Pact on 1 July 1991 gave the CSFR a new sense of independence. The disintegration of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of successor states--Russia (Kaliningrad), Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine--on the borders of the Visegrad triangle; Czechoslovakia now had only Ukraine as a neighbor from the former Soviet Union. The confidence of Czechoslovakia and its Visegrad triangle counterparts was bolstered, and they began to push harder in their shift westward. The June 1992 CSFR elections paradoxically created the preconditions for the velvet divorce. (4) The key dimension of the dispute was not nationalistic, but economic. It related to economic equality and inequality in both republics where, coincidentally, the same opinion dominated; that federation was unprofitable. (5) After deciding that a national plebiscite was unnecessary, the new Czech republic and Slovak republic governments decided to draw a new state border between the CSFR's Moravian and Slovakian republics. On 1 January 1993 two new states--the Czech Republic and Slovakia were created; and the Visegrad Triangle became the Visegrad Group. FOR THE CZECH REPUBLIC. The regional and political implications of the split have been dramatic for the Czech Republic. From Prague's perspective, the Czech Republic's ties to the West have been significantly enhanced. Now 62 percent of its 1,300-mile border is with German-speaking Europe; it shares 806 miles with (unified) Germany and Austria. (6) Its borders with Visegrad allies have been reduced greatly, to 34 percent; its border with Poland has been halved to 440 miles, and its border with Hungary no longer exists. On its eastern frontier, Slovakia now provides the Czech Republic with a 200-mile buffer with Ukraine. …