Working Together: The Partnership Between the Czech and German Greens as a Model for Wider Czech–German Co-operation?

Abstract

The objective of this article is to analyse the pattern and nature of co-operation between the Green parties of the Czech Republic and Germany. Given the disparity in size and political importance of the two parties, initially the article seeks to account for this discrepancy by detailing the very different circumstances in which the two parties came into existence. Similarly, we examine the burden of history that weighs upon contemporary Czech–German relations. The article then moves on to discuss how the two parties under examination seek to improve ties between the Czech and German populations and overcome the dilemmas of the past. It concludes by investigating the reasons for the apparent failure of either party to alter to any significant manner the overall framework of discourse regarding Czech–German relations in either country. 1 The authors wish to thank the British Academy for their support through LRG-35361 in the preparation of this article. They also wish to thank Jenny Hedstrom for her comme...