The US-Czech Alliance: Built to Last
The US and the Czech Republic have had a rocky alliance history, but since the defeat of Communism the two states have grown closer together. Despite the radical asymmetry in size and power, since 1989 the Czech Republic has been a valuable ally to the United States.
Recently, the Czech Republic played an integral part in the “Coalition of the Willing,” where its world-class Special Forces units provided the US with valuable support and expert training. According to US Ambassador Richard Graber, the Czech Chemical and Biological Decontamination Teams are the best in the world and provide expansive educational services to the US teams.
On February 27, 2008, President George Bush and Prime Minister Topol Nek met. Mr. Nek said, the “Number eight played a very important, nay, a key role in the history of the Czech nation.” He explained that in 1918, the US stood by Czechoslovakia as it became an independent nation. However, in 1938 the US stood idly by as the Nazis reached the Munich Agreement. Likewise, the US did nothing in 1948 when the Communist coup d’etat occurred or in 1968 when the Prague Spring was crushed by the Russian Communists. Mr. Nek said, “And I really wish that the year 2008 will become a similarly important year, both for the Czech Republic and also with the United States of America and our mutual relationship.”
His wish came true. The year 2008, though, marked a special milestone in the US-Czech relationship as deals on two major issues were finalized: visa waiver and missile defense.
The Visa Waiver Program has been a sticking point in US-Czech relations, because the Czechs feel slighted that their citizens need to undergo a long and costly visa application process before they can enter the United States, when they allow US citizens visa-free access to their country. The visa application process has prevented many Czechs, especially Czech students and young people who lack financial resources, from entering the US.
The Czech Republic also was chosen as the site for the radar component of the proposed US-built European missile defense system. This past summer, Foreign Ministers Condolezza Rice and Karel Schwarzenberg signed the deal; though the Czech Parliament and President Vaclav Klaus still need to signoff on it. If finalized, this deal has the potential to tie the US and the Czech Republic closer together than they ever have been before.
Martin Povejsil, the Political Director of the Foreign Minister, said of the missile defense issue: “For the Czech Republic this is unique in linking to the US in a new way.”
The strong Trans-Atlantic relationship of today was not always a foregone conclusion, however. On February 21, 1990, Vaclav Havel, the playwright and Communist dissident-turned-President, addressed a joint session of the US Congress for the first time after the fall of Communism. He said that it was time for Europe to “come into its own.” He did not want the US to abandon Europe or Czechoslovakia, but he wanted Europe to play a more important role in its post-Communist resurrection than the US.
This is not how history has unfolded. After Czechoslovakia split, the Czech Republic joined NATO years before it joined the EU. Even now, under President Klaus, the Czech Republic is more Euro-skeptic than Washington-skeptic.
This development was inevitable. Zuzana Isabella Tornikidis, Second Secretary of the Political Section of the Embassy of the Czech Republic, said that President Havel was too idealistic to think that Europe would emerge from peace after Communism as a unified body. Even though the main threat to Europe, Communism, was defeated, Europe still needs the US.
President Havel himself quickly realized the improbable nature of the Americanless European quest, and he started building the Trans-Atlantic relationship with the US.
Today, Czech foreign policy is committed to strengthening ties with both the US and the EU. With recent international events like the Iraq War straining US-EU relations, this goal seems paradoxical, but the Czech government refuses to acknowledge as much. Mr. Povejsil said that the EU should not compete with what the US is doing, but that instead there should “be a synergy of US interests and European interests.”
In the US, the land of pragmatism, many question alliances. The prevailing doctrine is that modern alliances will meld into short-term agreements when the times necessitate it. With this mindset, it is easy to chalk up the US-Czech relationship as one of mere necessity or convenience. The Czech Republic, as an emerging democracy, needs the expertise and strength of the US, and the US, with its waning international image, needs all of the partners it can get. When these times and circumstances change and it becomes expedient for one or the other partner to terminate or distance the relationship they will do so. Or so the theory goes.
During my time in the Czech Republic this summer, though, I found that the US-Czech relationship is built on more than pragmatics. Its foundation runs much deeper, and this strong foundation gives it the potential to provide benefits to both countries and to the world for years to come.
Jan Urban, a dissident under Communism and a founding member and spokesman of Civic Forum, said that the US-Czech relationship is also based on history.
The Hon. Richard Graber agrees. He said, “People remember what this country did for Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. [Because of that] it’s a warm relationship.” He continued, “You hear about anti-Americanism in Europe; I haven’t experienced it here.”
Though history is important, Ms. Tornikidis said that the relationship is built on so much more. Ideology and shared values play a key role in bonding the two nations together and there is an emotional component to the alliance as well.
After witnessing the devastating consequences of Nazism and Communism, the Czech Republic became one of the world’s premier sponsors of democracy and freedom. Mr. Povejsil said that, from the beginning, the two priorities of Czech foreign policy have been to orient Czech society towards the West and to spread the West as far East as possible. For its part, the US has had a history of democracy promotion too.
As both the US and the Czech Republic realize, democracy promotion cannot occur unless democracies cooperate. The Hon. Richard Graber summed up the sentiment when he said, “It has never been more important for democracies to work together than now.” Though US and Czech tactics differ, their strategy is the same: spread their shared Western values to other states. This set of shared values is one of the bedrocks of the US-Czech relationship and is why the relationship will continue to be important to both states for the foreseeable future.
