Reflexe cecenského konfliktu ceskou spolecností
The Reflection of the Conflict in Chechnya in the Czech Society

Summary/Abstract: The conflict in Chechnya has never gained prominence in Czech social discourse, its reflection has mainly been limited to the elites. These elites exerted influence upon the mass public which has shown a variable amount of interest in the events; most attention has been paid to the conflict during the outbreak of the First (1994) and Second (1999) Chechen War and later to the terrorist acts in Dubrovka (2002) and Beslan (2004). The discourse has been somewhat influenced by worldwide media patterns affected by great power policies (e.g. United States’ declaration of the war against terrorism), and it has been dominated by two opposing camps: those close to the former President Vaclav Havel on one side – People in Need (NGO), journalists from the Epicentrum agency (Petra Prochazkova, Jaromir Stetina), and Lidove noviny or Respekt among the media; and, on the other side, against them there was various opposition comprising e.g. 1) Czech Communists (KSCM), siding with Russia, and 2) Pragmatics (e.g. current President Vaclav Klaus), who have been criticizing the concept of human rights and/or its supremacy – as a cosmopolitan norm – over interests of sovereign nation states. In conclusion, the Chechen rebels have a significant part of silent support in the wider society. As less and less information about the development in the North Caucasus is available, the conflict at European outskirts disappears from the Czech society’s sight.

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