Democracy's Defenders: U.S. Embassy Prague, the Fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia, and Its Aftermath

by Norman L. Eisen

Overview

A behind-the-scenes look at how the United States aided the Velvet Revolution

Democracy’s Defenders offers a behind-the-scenes account of the little-known role played by the U.S. embassy in Prague in the collapse of communism in what was then Czechoslovakia. Featuring fifty-two newly declassified diplomatic cables, the book shows how the staff of the embassy led by U.S. Ambassador Shirley Temple Black worked with dissident groups and negotiated with the communist government during a key period of the Velvet Revolution that freed Czechoslovakia from Soviet rule.

In the vivid reporting of these cables, Black and other members of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Prague describe student demonstrations and their meetings with anti-government activists. The embassy also worked to forestall a violent crackdown by the communist regime during its final months in power.

Edited by Norman L. Eisen, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014, Democracy’s Defenders contributes fresh evidence to the literature on U.S. diplomatic history, the cold war era, and American promotion of democracy overseas. In an introductory essay, Eisen places the diplomatic cables in context and analyzes their main themes. In an afterword, Eisen, Czech historian Dr. Mikuláš Pešta, and Brookings researcher Kelsey Landau explain how the seeds of democracy that the United States helped plant have grown in the decades since the Velvet Revolution. The authors trace a line from U.S. efforts to promote democracy and economic liberalization after the Velvet Revolution to the contemporary situations of what are now the separate nations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780815738220
Publisher:	Brookings Institution Press
Publication date:	04/07/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	246
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Norman Eisen, editor and contributor, is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He served as U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014 and as White House “ethics czar” from 2009 to 2011. He is the author of The Last Palace: Europe’s Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House.

Table of Contents

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Timeline of Events

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Key Terms, Names, and Events

Introduction: U.S. Diplomacy in Czechoslovakia at the End of the Cold War

1. The Cables

Afterword: The Aftermath of Revolution: U.S. Support for Czech and Slovak Liberal Democracy, 1989–Present

Notes

Bibliography

Appendix: Mandatory Declassification Review Request

Index

Editorial Reviews

The sudden collapse of Communist regimes throughout Central and Eastern Europe unleashed popular uprisings and liberal leaders. Thirty years later, this remarkable collection of U.S. State Department cables, organized by Ambassador Norman Eisen and his co-contributors, highlights the role played by U.S. diplomats at a crucial time in the Velvet Revolution. When considering the lessons of 1989, it is worthwhile to remember the role played over decades by U.S. diplomats in helping
Europeans realize the dream of free and just societies.”—Strobe Talbott, former deputy secretary of state;
distinguished fellow in residence, Brookings Institution

From the Publisher