The Legacy of Charter 77: Dissent, the Helsinki Effect and the Emergence of a European Public Space
Résumé
In 1956 Leszek Kolakowski published a famous essay entitled "What is alive and what is dead in the socialist idea"? Today, 40 years after the death of Jan Patocka, the first spokesman of the Charter 77, we can ask: What is alive and what is dead in the Charter legacy and, more broadfly that of Central European dissent?
The question concerning these legacies are by no means just a mater for historians, but have relevance for those in Europe and beyond who seek to understand the background to the changes of 1989 and the reinvention of democracy in Central Europe after communism. And the perceptions have not always been congruent in Prague and abroad.
The question concerning these legacies are by no means just a mater for historians, but have relevance for those in Europe and beyond who seek to understand the background to the changes of 1989 and the reinvention of democracy in Central Europe after communism. And the perceptions have not always been congruent in Prague and abroad.