The Power of the Powerless and Further Havelian Paradoxes in the Stream of Time
The Power of the Powerless and Further Havelian Paradoxes in the Stream of Time

Summary/Abstract: Recognizing Václav Havel’s essentially dramatic and paradoxical perception of reality can help us to resolve apparent contradictions in his thought before and after 1989, revealing fundamental continuities. The authors trace Havel’s thinking and its reception— both at home and abroad—from The Power of the Powerless to his Czechoslovak and Czech presidencies, explaining how his thinking changed and did not change over the quarter century from 1978 to 2003. Throughout this period, the authors argue, Havel remained committed to certain core ideas of The Power of the Powerless (perhaps most notably “post-democracy”) though perestroika and especially the revolution of 1989 altered possibilities for their realization. While Havel’s sense for ambivalence and paradoxical tension was often fruitful, it could also have problematic implications for political practice and political culture.

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