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Mass and Elite Attitudes During the Prague Spring Era: Importance Legacy Mass and Elite Attitudes During the Prague Spring Era: Importance and Legacy This monograph examines mass and elite opinion before and during the Prague Spring era with a unique collection of survey datasets. This research has four key findings. First, public opinion on the eve of the Prague Spring re- Pat Lyons forms in 1967 was politically engaged and was in favour of change. Second, Mass and Elite Attitudes during citizens’ political attitudes in May 1968 were supportive of key features of multiparty democracy, and these attitudes are broadly similar to those evi- the Prague Spring Era: dent in the Czech Republic today. Third, public support for political reform was complex where citizens exhibited hopes for greater liberalization but Importance and Legacy were cognizant of the limits constraining reform. Fourth, the Prague Spring elite differed in terms of background but exhibited consensus with regard to political outlook. This empirical research fits with the new wave of historical work that emphasizes the importance of social change in understanding the Prague Spring era, and demonstrates the continuity in Czech citizens’ politi- cal attitudes under both communism and liberal democracy. Cover photograph was taken in a park in Prague on July 29 1968. The cap- tion on the pram declares „Dubcek don‘t give up.“ Photograph courtesy of ČTK Fotobanka. Pat Lyons is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Political Sociology, Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences. Prague 2009 Pat Lyons Mass and Elite Attitudes during the Prague Spring Era: Importance Legacy Mass and Elite Attitudes during the Prague Spring Era: Importance and Legacy Pat Lyons Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Prague 2009 227-Pat7-Pat LLyons-Massyons-Mass aandnd EElitelite AAttitudes.inddttitudes.indd 22-3-3 112.5.20102.5.2010 00:15:52:15:52 Reviewers: Content Mgr. Miroslav Tížik, Ph.D. Mary Stegmaier, Ph.D. Abstract .................................................................................................................. 9 Keywords ............................................................................................................. 10 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 11 Acronyms and Key Terms ................................................................................... 12 State Surveying Organisations in Czechoslovakia, 1945– .................................................................................... 15 List of Figures ...................................................................................................... 16 This monograph has been completed with funding from Czech Grant Agency (Grant No. 407/08/1515) for a project entitled “Citizens and the State in the Czech Republic: The Impact and Legacy of the Prague Spring List of Tables ........................................................................................................ 18 1968-2008” (2007-2009). This book was supported also by the Research Plan of the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Introduction ......................................................................................................... 21 Republic ‘Sociological Analysis of Long-term Social Processes in Czech Mass Political Attitudes Research in Czechoslovakia ................................... 23 Society in the Context of European Integrational Policies, Development of Empirical social research during the First Republic (1918-1938) .......... 24 the Knowledge-based Society and of Human, Social and Cultural Capital’, Emergence of mass survey research (1945-1948) ................................. 25 No. AV0Z70280505. Empirical social research under communism (1948-1969) ................... 27 Re-emergence of mass survey research (1965-1967) ............................ 29 Stability of Czechoslovak attitudes between 1948 and 1968 ................ 31 Political Attitudes Research during the Prague Spring Era ......................... 31 Logic and Structure of this Research Study .................................................. 35 Public opinion polling and the political climate ..................................... 38 Evaluation of mass survey questions ..................................................... 40 Overall structure of this research study ................................................. 43 Roadmap of this Study ................................................................................... 45 1. Proposals for Reforming Czechoslovakia: The Prague Spring Movement of 1968 .......................................................... 49 Internal Reform Proposals .............................................................................. 50 1. A ‘New Economic Model’ .................................................................... 52 2. Social implications of a socialist high technology economy ............ 54 3. Social stratification, status and power ............................................... 55 4. Political power, citizen rights and democratisation ........................... 57 © Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague 2009. 5. Electoral reform .................................................................................... 60 All rights reserved. External Reform Proposals ............................................................................. 62 ISBN 978-80-7330-174-3 [5] [4] 227-Pat7-Pat LLyons-Massyons-Mass aandnd EElitelite AAttitudes.inddttitudes.indd 44-5-5 112.5.20102.5.2010 00:15:52:15:52 Mass and Elite Attitudes during the Prague Spring Era: Importance and Legacy Content 1. Rejection of dogmatism and search for real socialism ..................... 63 Data and Results ............................................................................................ 153 2. Pluralism and democracy .................................................................... 68 Brokl model of political orientation in 1968 ......................................... 155 Internal versus External Reform .................................................................... 70 Political Values in 1968 and 2008 ................................................................. 156 Official ‘internal’ reform agenda: The Action Programme .................... 71 Exploratory Factor Analysis across space and time ............................ 157 External reform agenda: Two Thousand Words .................................... 72 Political Preferences in 1968 and 2008 ........................................................ 163 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 74 MDU analysis of political preferences .................................................. 165 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 169 2. Conceptions of Democracy, Public Opinion and Opinion Polling ............... 77 Different Visions of Democracy ..................................................................... 78 5. The Structure of Czechoslovak Elites Public Opinion, Opinion polls and Democracy ............................................. 81 at the End of the Prague Spring Era ............................................................ 171 Public opinion and opinion polling in a Socialist Democracy .............. 82 Elites, Power, Influence and Social Circles ................................................. 173 Public opinion and opinion polling in a Liberal Democracy ................. 82 Developing a comparative research methodology ............................. 174 Public opinion, opinion polling and type of democracy ....................... 83 Elite Survey Data and Methodology ............................................................ 175 Theory confronting data .......................................................................... 87 Survey methodology ............................................................................. 176 Public Opinion toward Democracy and Elections ........................................ 88 Questionnaire design and interviewing ............................................... 177 Public preferences for electoral reform and institutional opposition .. 89 Analysis and Results ..................................................................................... 178 Institutional guarantees of democracy and perceived threats ............. 94 Who were members of the Czechoslovak elite in 1969? ..................... 178 Trust in politicians, voting intentions and party preferences ............... 98 Social origins of elites and reproduction of social positions .............. 182 Attitudes toward reform within the KSČ .............................................. 106 Elites’ perceived role and influence in society ..................................... 184 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 109 Structure of interaction and influence among elites ........................... 187 Sociometric analysis .............................................................................. 191 3. The Prague Spring Generation: Public Opinion on the Eve of Reform .... 111 Opinion formation and policy formulation .......................................... 195 Determinants of Political Pluralism in Czechoslovakia .............................. 112 Conclusion ....................................................................................................
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