Vaclav Klaus and Nationhood
Hardly any Americans remember this remarkable man, but he took over the leadership of the old, post-Soviet Czechoslovakia, in order to push it toward a Western-style democracy with a modern market-economy; but released from its Soviet yoke, the Czech-Slovak nationalistic rivalry that had existed before the World Wars came alive again and created political instability and public anxiety. The rivalries threatened the future of the nation and its ability to grow and prosper.