The Velvet Divorce (1993)
Commonly known as the "Velvet Divorce', the dissolution of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia which came into force from 1st January 1993 is one of the lesser talked disintegrations in the last decade of the 20th century overshadowed by the dissolution of the USSR and Yugoslavia. The state of Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918 as a result of the Pittsburgh Agreement that dissolved the Austrian empire and comprising the two nations. However with the passage of time Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the Czechoslovak President pushed for greater unity against the Slovak wishes. After being freed from the Nazi Control post the Second World War, it became a Communist satellite state with Unitarian features. In 1968, the new Constitutional Law of Federation, tried to revive the Federal structure as devised in the Pittsburgh Agreement, however this was abandoned by Gustáv Husák who inspite of being Slovak by descent returned most of the power to Prague sowing the seeds of seperatism.
In 1989, the Velvet Revolution occurred which ended Communist party rule. Whilst both sides wanted the Federation to thrive, the new political parties and leaders that emerged were unsure about the pattern of administration. Whilst the Slovaks opined for decentralisation, the Czechs advocated for a stronger federation centred at Prague. The Slovak parties had little presence in the Czech areas and vice versa. Other reasons, were attributed to the ethnic differences between these two groups and the Czechs usually dominating in the political and administrative spheres. In 1992 Václav Klaus was elected who began negotiations with the Slovak leaders led by Vladimír Mečiar. On 17 July, the Slovak Parliament declared its independence with Klaus and Mečiar agreeing to disolve the Federation.
It was also opined that Economic factors accelerated the split. Uneven economic development was more fundamental for the division rather than the political issues. Slovakia which was industrially disadvantaged benefitted due to the Central Planning adopted post World War II and it's geographical proximity to the Soviet Union also aided in this regard. However although this regenerated the economy, with the fall of Communism in Eastern European states, Slovakia had a less diverse economy as compared the Czech areas and was confined only to heavy and armament industries. After the Velvet Revolution, when free market economic policies were being implemented it hit Slovakia more negatively than the Czechs with unemployment exceeding 19% in the former. Moreover, the private sector kicked well off in the Czech provinces than the Slovak ones with Slovakia lacking in Foreign Investment while Czech Republic attracted more of it. This sparked off secessionist tendencies within Slovakia whose politicians began to enunciate that an independent Slovakia would be better-off. Many of them stated that the Slovak resources were being transferred to Czechs under controlled prices when the truth was very different, the Czechs actually supported the Slovaks through the redistribution of resources.
Thus on 13 November amidst all these circumstances, the Federal Parliament passed the Constitution Act 541 settling the division of lands between Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Constitution Act 542 was passed on 25 November that dissolved Czechoslovakia on 31 December 1992 with Bratislava being declared the new capital of Slovakia. President Václav Havel resigned rather than oversee the dissolution which he opposed. In an opinion polls conducted in September 1992 it was seen that only 37% of Slovaks and 36% Czechs supported this dissolution.
Unemployment rate as in 1992. As pointed out Slovakia lagged behind in this economic factor as well than the Czech Republic.
The division of Czechoslovakia caused multiple problems. With the boundaries not being properly determined and set on existent internal borders, the frontier cut across streets, roads and communities that co-existed for decades. However both countries settled these issues amicably through mutual negotiations and financial compensations. Furthermore, after the Schengen Agreement of 2007 of which both states were a signatory these issues suffered a natural death. Post the split, the Slovak Koruna was lower than its Czech counterpart until in 2009, the former was replaced by the Euro. Both states agreed to honour the treaties and obligations entered into by the former federation.
The split did benefit both states economically. The Czechs were no longer required to support an economically weaker Slovakia whilst Slovakia did reach better economic conditions. Politically Slovakia is more stabilized with only 4 Prime Ministers with the Czechs having 10 as of 2018. Although both states have abolished dual citizenship (though exceptions maybe made in some cases), citizens can travel to the other state without passports and recently both countries were considering to merge the embassies of each other along with other members of the Visegrád Group (comprising Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Czech Republic) to reduce costs.
The Velvet Divorce is perhaps only the second peaceful dissolution of a union since the collapse of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. It serves as a testament to countries like India and Pakistan or Morocco and Western Sahara who have still not resolved their differences even after so many years of independence. It also shows that diplomacy and negotiations are anyday a better solution to disputes than wars, conflicts and bloodshed. Both these countries are expected to progress politically and economically having each other on its back as two endearing siblings and not hostile ones.
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