Lyons, Pat and Kindlerov�, Rita (eds) Contemporary Czech Society (review)

Abstract

SEER, 96, 2, APRIL 2018 392 Russia. Morozov suggests as much (p. 105), but inconsistently. Abandoning the notion of ‘the people’ as the true subaltern would not have undermined Morozov’s core argument about Russia’s intrinsic dependence on the Western normative order. Morozov’s book is a rich and insightful study of Russia’s peculiar relations with the West. It goes to the heart of Russia’s inferiority complex vis-à-vis the West by putting it in a global context. It is essential reading for anyone interested in Russian identity, foreign policy and politics. School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy & Politics Alexander Titov Queen’s University Belfast Lyons, Pat and Kindlerová, Rita (eds). Contemporary Czech Society. Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, 2016. 551 pp. Illustrations. Figures. Tables. Bibliography. Index. CZK 350.00: $14.00 (paperback). Contemporary Czech Society, edited by Pat Lyons and Rita Kindlerová, is a wide-ranging study of current attitudinal trends and changing realities, based on insights drawn largely from mass survey data. This highly engaging and thought-provoking work, which employs a social scientific framework, seeks and largely manages to present a value-free account of popular perceptions of the self and others. The publication comprises five sections: Preface; Introduction; Theory, methods and structure; fifty-seven short empiricallyinformed chapters; and Conclusion, which contains a ‘cross-validation’. The separate chapters include contributions from eighteen different scholars, although Lyons’s own input merits special recognition, not least because it exceeds that of all the other authors as a whole. The main body of the text is dividedintofivebroadlyconceivedthematicparts,whichconsiderCzechsociety from economic, historical, political science, psychological and sociological perspectives. Each chapter adopts an erotetic (question and answer) approach, and is grounded in solid scholarship, with reference to numerous secondary sources and models and frameworks, but without conventional academic citations and footnotes. The study is thus presumably intended both for a general educated market keen to learn more about the dynamics and values of Czech society, and for a more specialized readership, with an interest in particular aspects of the subject area. Amongst the questions posed in Part 1, relating loosely to economic affairs, are ‘Do Czechs know and trust official economic statistics?’; ‘Do Czechs want equality?’; ‘Are there too many university graduates in the Czech Republic?’; REVIEWS 393 and ‘What are the attitudes of Czechs towards climate change?’. Part 2: Historical Perspective, asks, inter alia, ‘Who voted for the Communists in the election of 1946?’; ‘Why did Czechs and Slovaks allow their leaders to dissolve Czechoslovakia in late 1992?’; and ‘What is current public opinion towards the Velvet Revolution?’. Questions informed by political science include ‘Are Czechs nostalgic for life under communism?’; ‘What can be learned from analysing Czech election ballot papers?’; ‘What is Czechs’ level of knowledge about refugees and asylum seekers, and is it important?’; and ‘Czexit?’. In Part 4: Psychological Perspective, Lyons addresses questions such as ‘What are the main personality traits of the Czechs?’; ‘Do Czechs think they know more than they really do?’; and ‘What does a study of a Czech internet user tell us?’. The final part looks at a range of questions from a sociological perspective, including ‘Are Czechs a nation of grumblers?’; ‘Is religion dead in the Czech Republic?’; ‘What is the nature of sexual behaviour in Czech society?’; ‘Is there equal treatment of ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic?’; and ‘How do Czechs spend their free time?’. Inevitably, with a multi-authored study of this length and breadth, there is some variation in the scope and style of the analysis, and a degree of repetition (with terms such as ‘heuristic’, ‘TOP 09’ and ‘IPSOS-MORI’ being explained more than once). Nonetheless, Lyons’s recurring voice ensures an appropriate measure of authorial continuity, while the repetition allows for the various sections and chapters to be read independent of the whole. Different readers will bring their own interests and expertise to the book, but I particularly enjoyed the chapters which employed historical and sociological perspectives, in addition to the illustrations by Miroslav Kemel, which offer a touch of light relief. Amongst the many intriguing characterizations of the Czech people is one derived from a European Social Survey (2012...