Geopolitical Imaginations: Czech and Slovak Variants

Abstract

Original models for the boundaries of Central Europe, reflecting Czech or Slovak national interests, are seldom encountered. Those that emerged in Czech and Slovak milieus and bear the features of geopolitical imaginations – ones that respect the dynamics of power movement within space and the logic of power balance – are threefold. Firstly, there is the vision of a broader federation, a state composed of multiple nationalities or original states that can balance external pressures from the west and/or the east. The most significant proponent of this model as a means of securing the Czech (Czech–Slavic) national interest is František Palacký. The second model is an empire rooted in Pan-Slavism and capable of resisting western pressure. This concept is most refined in the work of Ľudovít Štúr. The third model, resembling a nation-state, relies on both the potential for fostering collaboration among a bloc of Slavic states and the support of Western powers against Pan-German expansionism. The most prominent author of this model is Tomáš G. Masaryk. Other models, like proletarian internationalism or the European Union, draw from these sources but, in defining national interests, do not proceed from the principle of nations’ right to self-determination. Practical experience has shown the limited possibilities of all the aforementioned geopo- litical imaginations: that they are supplemented, for instance, by historical rights, strategic necessity, or the civic principle and, in some instances, that they fail due to the shifting balance of power in Central Europe. However, replacing them with the civic principle within European integration today entails risks. The only solution is a balanced respect for social, ethnic, and civic rights and the projection of this dynamic balance into international relations.