According to itypeusa, the Czech Republic originates from the peaceful division, which took place on January 1, 1993, of Czechoslovakia into its two constituent entities of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Already in December 1992, the Czech Republic had adopted its own Constitution based on democratic principles and practices and, therefore, in open opposition to the one-party regime that had characterized the political-institutional structure of Czechoslovakia starting after World War II, when it became part of the Soviet sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. Free from the rigid constraints imposed by the bipolar logic, the Czech Republic therefore embarked on a transition process towards democracy and a market economy in the early nineties, flanked and supported by a foreign policy aimed at integration into Euro-Atlantic cooperation mechanisms. Dissolved in 1991 the Warsaw Pact – the defensive alliance of the pro-Soviet bloc, of which Czechoslovakia was a founding member – the Czech Republic first approached the Atlantic Alliance, joining the Partnership for Peace program of the Born in 1994 and joining the organization in 1999 with Poland and Hungary. Entry into the European Union (Eu) in 2004 completed the Czech integration process in the Euro-Atlantic bloc. Since 2007, the Czech Republic is also part of the Schengen area, and in 2009 he held for the first time the rotating presidency of the Council of E u. Prague ratified the Lisbon Treaty in November 2009, after the constitutional court found it compatible with the Czech Constitution, but established an opt-out clause with respect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as did the United Kingdom and Poland. Relations with neighboring countries are generally good and, together with Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, in 1991 the country founded the Visegrád group, whose members cooperate in numerous political and economic fields. However, some external elements of tension remain, fueled on the one hand by Czech nuclear plants built near the Austrian border, and on the other by the issue of migrants who have ascended to Central-Eastern Europe through the so-called ‘Balkan route’. In particular, this last issue represented a strong moment of confrontation / clash between the Czech government and the European institutions. Relations with the USA they have become very narrow, despite the tendentially more pro-Russian positions of some apparatus of the national institutions. The Czech Republic supported Washington’s engagement in Afghanistan with its own troops and also agreed to the proposal to host a US missile base as part of the defensive shield project, although under the presidency of Barack Obama that project stalled.
The Czech Republic is a bicameral and multi-party parliamentary republic. The Senate (Senát) is made up of 81 elected with a single-member majority system in two rounds and is renewed every two years by one third of its members. The Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká Sněmovna) is elected every 4 years under the proportional system and is made up of 200 representatives. Since the early elections of 25-26 November 2013, the new government majority (111 out of 200 parliamentarians) is made up of a mixed coalition of left and liberal forces, made up of Cssd (Česká Strana Sociálně Demokratická – Czech Social Democratic Party), the populists of Ano 2011 (Akce Nespokojených Občanů – Action of dissatisfied citizens) by millionaire Andrej Babiš and Kdu- CSL (křesťanská to demokratická-Unie Strana Československá Lidová – Democratic and Christian Union). The government has been led since January 2014 by the socialist leader Bohuslav Sobotka. However, the extreme heterogeneity of the governing coalition has not solved the problem of the stability of the executive, so much so as to fear new crises, especially in economic matters – the main reason for the conflict was the question concerning the possible adoption of the euro -, where political visions are highlighted in the majority.
The opposition parties are the conservative TOP09 (Tradice Odpovednost Prosperity 09 – Tradition, responsibility and prosperity 09) and ODS (Občanská demokratická Strana – Civic Democratic Party), the Communists of the KSCM (Komunistická Strana Čech a Moravy – Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia), the populists of Úsvit Přímé Demokracie (Dawn of Direct Democracy) of the Czech-Japanese entrepreneur Tomio Okamura. The elections were held seven months before the natural expiration of the mandate (May 2014): the corruption allegations against the executive and, above all, the entourage of the then Prime Minister Petr Necaš. The head of state is Miloš Zeman of the CSSD, elected on January 26, 2013 for the first time through popular consultation.
