After Utopia

Czechoslovak Normalization between Experiment and Experience, 1968–1989

Contributions by Christiane Brenner Contributions by Michal Pullmann Contributions by Anja Tippner Contributions by Thomas Lindenberger Contributions by Martin Schulze Wessel Contributions by Stefan Lehr Contributions by Tomas Vilimek Contributions by Jakub Rakosnik Contributions by Filip Keller Contributions by Ludwig Hetzel Contributions by Jaroslav Sebek Contributions by Agáta Šústová Drelová Contributions by Martin Franc Contributions by Peter Hallama Contributions by Marek Nekula Contributions by Libuše Heczková Contributions by Kateřina Svatoňová Contributions by Anna Artwinska Contributions by Marketa Spiritova Contributions by Jan Mervart Contributions by Michal Hvorecký Edited by Christiane Brenner Edited by Michal Pullmann Edited by Anja Tippner

Image coming soon

Extent: 406 pages

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Subjects: Slavic Studies, Twentieth- & Twenty-First- Century History

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(February 2022)

ISBN: 9783525336144

6.3 x 9.33 inches

Price: $88.00

In stock

The volume analyzes developments, expectations, and experiences during the so-called normalization following the suppression of the Prague Spring.


The HusAk government that came into power after the suppression of the Prague Spring formulated the goal of restoring “normality” in Czechoslovakia. It revoked prior reforms and initiated widespread “cleansing measures” and repression. Most notably, however, it lacked a clear vision for the future. The contributions in this volume show that the 1970s and 1980s were nevertheless not a time of complete stagnation. Efforts at restoration and modernization frequently existed simultaneously and counteractively. The essays discuss this contradictoriness and the often invisible dynamics of the normalization period exemplarily. A further key topic is the normalization’s echo in literature, remembrance culture, and historiography.

  • Contributions by Christiane Brenner
  • Contributions by Michal Pullmann
  • Contributions by Anja Tippner
  • Contributions by Thomas Lindenberger
  • Contributions by Martin Schulze Wessel
  • Contributions by Stefan Lehr
  • Contributions by Tomas Vilimek
  • Contributions by Jakub Rakosnik
  • Contributions by Filip Keller
  • Contributions by Ludwig Hetzel
  • Contributions by Jaroslav Sebek
  • Contributions by Agáta Šústová Drelová
  • Contributions by Martin Franc
  • Contributions by Peter Hallama
  • Contributions by Marek Nekula
  • Contributions by Libuše Heczková
  • Contributions by Kateřina Svatoňová
  • Contributions by Anna Artwinska
  • Contributions by Marketa Spiritova
  • Contributions by Jan Mervart
  • Contributions by Michal Hvorecký
  • Edited by Christiane Brenner
  • Edited by Michal Pullmann
  • Edited by Anja Tippner