
Architects of Long Change
The Expert Roots of Post-Socialism in Czechoslovakia (1980-1995)
Michal Kopecek(Editor)
Karolinum,Nakladatelstvi Univerzity Karlovy,Czech Republic (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 5. October 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-80-246-6117-9 (ISBN)
Description
A thorough retort to the idea that the West led the transition from communism to liberal democracy.
Architects of Long Change examines expert forms of governance and their legitimization before 1989, as well as the transfer of expert knowledge and practices of political and social management during the democratic transition. The contributors argue that so-called neoliberal governance was not solely the result of imported Western political and cultural models, but was also shaped by intellectual, mental, and sociocultural continuities from the period of late socialism. These continuities-and the broader hypothesis of a "long systemic change" spanning from 1980 to 1995-are explored through case studies in legal science, sociology, urban planning, environmental studies, psychotherapy, and business management.
Architects of Long Change offers a novel perspective on the late communist dictatorship, the democratic revolution of 1989, and the early development of liberal democracy and capitalism in Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic.
Architects of Long Change examines expert forms of governance and their legitimization before 1989, as well as the transfer of expert knowledge and practices of political and social management during the democratic transition. The contributors argue that so-called neoliberal governance was not solely the result of imported Western political and cultural models, but was also shaped by intellectual, mental, and sociocultural continuities from the period of late socialism. These continuities-and the broader hypothesis of a "long systemic change" spanning from 1980 to 1995-are explored through case studies in legal science, sociology, urban planning, environmental studies, psychotherapy, and business management.
Architects of Long Change offers a novel perspective on the late communist dictatorship, the democratic revolution of 1989, and the early development of liberal democracy and capitalism in Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Ovocny
Czech Republic
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 190 mm
Width: 150 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-80-246-6117-9 (9788024661179)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Michal Kopecek is a senior research fellow in the Institute of Contemporary History at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Gerald Turner is a translator of Czech and was the personal translator to Vaclav Havel, the first president of the Czech Republic.
Content
Preface to English Edition
Introduction
Michal Kopecek
1. Ruling by Law
Czech Jurisprudence from "Repressive Legality" to the Rule of Law, 1969 - 1994
Michal Kopecek
2. Enterprise management in Czechoslovakia from socialism to capitalism
Tomas Vilimek
3. From the Socialist Theory of Management to Neo-Liberal Managerialism
Michal Kopecek and Vaclav Rames
4. The transformation of socialist man into the liberal individual?
Adela Gjuricova
5. Criticism, Management and Business. Social research and sociology as tools of governance in Czechoslovakia after 1969
Michal Kopecek
6. Between science and politics. Ecology in socialism and capitalism
Matej Spurny
7. Planning Prague in the 1980s-1990s: The self-destruction of urban planning expertise
Petr Roubal
Introduction
Michal Kopecek
1. Ruling by Law
Czech Jurisprudence from "Repressive Legality" to the Rule of Law, 1969 - 1994
Michal Kopecek
2. Enterprise management in Czechoslovakia from socialism to capitalism
Tomas Vilimek
3. From the Socialist Theory of Management to Neo-Liberal Managerialism
Michal Kopecek and Vaclav Rames
4. The transformation of socialist man into the liberal individual?
Adela Gjuricova
5. Criticism, Management and Business. Social research and sociology as tools of governance in Czechoslovakia after 1969
Michal Kopecek
6. Between science and politics. Ecology in socialism and capitalism
Matej Spurny
7. Planning Prague in the 1980s-1990s: The self-destruction of urban planning expertise
Petr Roubal