Regional development and the disintegration of Czechoslovakia

The breakup of Czechoslovakia on 31 December 1992 resulted in the emergence of a newly independent Slovakia and Czech Republic. The split is often interpreted as the result of ethnic nationalism. In contrast, this paper attempts to assess the influence of regional inequalities and uneven economic development on the split. Pre-World War Two Czechoslovakia was unable to address large regional differences between the Czech lands and Slovakia. The economic policies pursued by the state socialist governments following 1948 were directed toward the elimination of these differences through rapid industrialization of Slovakia. The economic transformation in Czechoslovakia after the collapse of state socialism resulted in reemergence of uneven development between Slovakia and the Czech lands, which contributed to the disintegration of the country. The links between economic issues and politics are discussed, and the paper shows how the regional inequalities and economic issues were used to justify the necessity of Slovak and Czech independence.