Czech Republic–United States relations
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Relations between the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
were officially established in 1918, but has been cut throughout the history, exactly between 1948-1989 when the Czech Republic (at that time as Czechoslovakia) was under the soviet influence. Since transitioning into a
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
in 1989, joining
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
in 1999, and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in 2004, the Czech Republic has gradually become a close economic partner and formal military ally of the United States, drastically improving bilateral ties in the years since through increasingly extensive cooperation in areas ranging from counterterrorism to cultural exchanges. According to the 2012 U.S. Global Leadership Report, 39% of
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...
approve of the job performance of the U.S. leadership, with 26% disapproving and 35% uncertain.


History


Post–World War I

U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
played a major role in the establishment of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
on October 28, 1918. President Wilson's 14 Points, including the right of ethnic groups to form their own states, were the basis for the union of the Czechs and Slovaks.
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdyc ...
, the father of the state and its first President, visited the United States during World War I and worked with U.S. officials in developing the basis of the new country. Masaryk used the
U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...
as a model for the first Czechoslovak constitution.


Post–World War II and communist Czechoslovakia

After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the
Czechoslovak government-in-exile The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia ( cz, Prozatímní vláda Československa, sk, Dočasná vláda Československa), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechos ...
returned. Normal relations continued until 1948, when the
communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
seized power and relations froze rapidly. The Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
in August 1968 further complicated U.S.-Czechoslovak relations. The United States referred the matter to the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
as a violation of the
United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...
, but no action was taken against the Soviets.


Velvet Revolution

Since the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
of 1989, bilateral relations have improved immensely. Dissidents once sustained by U.S. encouragement and
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
policies reached high levels in the government. President
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...
, in his first official visit as head of Czechoslovakia, addressed the U.S. Congress and was interrupted 21 times by
standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
s. In 1990, on the first anniversary of the revolution, President George H. W. Bush, in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Prague's Wenceslas Square, pledged U.S. support in building a democratic Czechoslovakia. Toward this end, the U.S. Government has actively encouraged political and economic transformation. The U.S. Government was originally opposed to the idea of Czechoslovakia forming two separate states, due to concerns that a split might aggravate existing regional political tensions. However, the U.S. recognized both the Czech Republic and Slovakia on January 1, 1993. Since then, U.S.–Czech relations have remained strong economically, politically, and culturally.


Current issues


Iraq War and Global War on Terror

In 2003, the Czech Government sent a small contingent of elite anti-chemical weapons warfare experts to
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
to support the then-impending U.S. led
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
. Despite governmental support for the war, an overwhelming majority of Czechs opposed the U.S. led invasion of Iraq throughout the lead up to the war and immediately following the invasion. A public opinion poll conducted in March 2003 found that over 70 percent of the population opposed the war even with a UN mandate while 83 percent of Czechs were against the war in Iraq without a mandate. Furthermore, the same poll found that 82 percent of Czechs believe that the U.S. bases its foreign policy "according to its own power and economic interests." Czech opposition to the war did not amount to the level of massive visible street demonstrations such as those seen in other cities around the world. On February 15, 2003, 1,500 people attended a rally against the war in Wenceslas Square in Prague.


Missile defense system

A missile defense system was planned to be installed at Brdy part of the Czech Republic. It would have been an X band
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
system that would work with a missile site in
Redzikowo Redzikowo (German: ''Reitz'', Kashubian: ''Redzëkòwò'') is a village in northern Poland, located in Gmina Słupsk, Słupsk County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, 5 km to the east of Słupsk. It has 405 inhabitants (2006). Just to the north ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. In August 2008, the Czech
Security Information Service The Security Information Service (BIS) ( cs, Bezpečnostní informační služba), is the primary domestic national intelligence agency of the Czech Republic. It is responsible for collecting, analyzing, reporting and disseminating intelligence ...
(BIS) published the report for the year 2007, in which it says that Russian secret agents (spies) have been from the beginning highly influencing the public opinion against the building of U.S. radar in Czech republic. In September 2008 Czech Military Counter-intelligence confirmed the report of BIS. "BIS claims, that the Russian espionage is currently at high intensity and level." Russians secret agents mainly influence the people, that can have a great influence on public opinion. After Barack Obama was elected the President of the United States, there were speculations that he might stop the project. The final decision to scratch the plans was announced on 17 September 2009 by a phone call from Obama to Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer. In June 2011,
Alexandr Vondra Alexandr Vondra (; born 17 August 1961) is a Czech politician and diplomat who served as Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic from 2010 to 2012 under Prime Minister Petr Nečas and has been Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2019 ...
, a Czech defense minister, told the U.S. that his country was withdrawing from the European missile defense system, stating: "We will seek other opportunities for the Czech Republic to participate in the Alliance system in the future; but this does not change anything about our support for NATO missile defense." In January 2014, the Czech government approved of the sale of 28 sub-sonic L-159 military planes in a deal worth up to $25.8 million to the United States.


Czech Role as Protecting Power in Syria

As of February 2012, due to the escalating Syrian civil war, the U.S. Embassy in Syria closed down. After the
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
embassy also closed, the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
in its stead assumed
protecting power A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...
responsibility for the United States. All U.S. citizens needing help are directed to go to the Embassy of The Czech Republic in Damascus. The US State Department's travel tips include "The Government of the Czech Republic, acting through its Embassy in Damascus, serves as Protecting Power for U.S. interests in Syria. The range of consular services the Czech Republic provides to U.S. citizens is extremely limited, and those services may require significantly more processing time than at U.S. embassies or consulates outside of Syria."


Notes


See also

*
Czech American Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...
* List of Czech Americans * United States–European Union relations *
Foreign relations of the Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a Central European country, a member of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United Nations (and all of its main specia ...
*
Foreign relations of the United States The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. This includes all UN member and observer states other than Bhutan, Iran, North Korea and Syria, and the UN observer State of Palestine, the last of which the U.S. does not rec ...


References


US State Department
Copy of public domain text


External links

*Artem Zorin
American policy towards Czechoslovakia, 1918–1945History of Czech Republic – U.S. relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czech Republic - United States Relations Bilateral relations of the United States
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...