Za samostatný český stát. Fenomén České strany státoprávně pokrokové 1908-1914.
Towards an Independent Czech State. The Phenomenon of the Czech Constitutional Progressive Party 1908-1914.

Summary/Abstract: In the context of its time, the party represented a unique phenomenon in many respects: it demanded the speedy restoration of an independent Czech state in the framework of Austria-Hungary on the basis of the Czech historical state law, securing the dominant position of the Czech nation. It was in favour of the radical opposition to the Vienna government centralism and represented a uncompromising stand against the privileged position of the German minority in the Czech Kingdom. It was also in favour of political democratisation and substantial social reforms. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy was understood as a platform for Czech national struggle in peaceful times before the war. However, for the future existence of the Czech nation it counted on the future international development, assuming that an European wide war conflict was coming, and with it the opportunity for efforts to achieve full independence of the Czech state. For that reason the party favoured an independent Czech foreign policy, oriented toward powers antagonist to Austria-Hungary, attempting to use their assistance in making the Czech question an international issue in peaceful times. At the same time it paid greater attention than it was usual in Czech politics to international situation, predicting in its press that the war was coming. In the period of escalated international tension after the annexation of Bosnia-Hercegovina at the turn of 1908 and 1909, during the Balkan wars in 1912–1913, and in the Spring 1914, some of the party leaders and journalists made backstairs investigations in Russia and England to find out the possibilities for Czech foreign activities in the case the war broke out. It proclaimed its program direction more or less openly in May 1914 in the so called Manifest to Europe, which was approved at its congress. Shortly it was published in its central daily Samostatnost (Independence) in Czech, Russian and French versions. As the only Czech political party, it completely separated itself from the existence of Austria-Hungary already at the eve of the war, and adopted formation of the Czech State outside the empire. At the same time it anticipated the idea of foreign and domestic resistance. From the beginning of the war the party and its individual members actively participated both in the domestic and foreign resistance. In February 1918 it formed, with other middle class Czech political parties, the Czech Constitutional Democracy, reorganized in 1919 into the Czechoslovak National Democracy, in which the former members represented the idealist national wing.

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