New Book: Perestrojka v Šamotce: Proměny vedoucí úlohy KSČ z perspektivy jednoho podniku
ŠTEFEK, Martin: Perestrojka v Šamotce: Proměny vedoucí úlohy KSČ z perspektivy jednoho podniku [Perestroika in Shamotka: The Changes in the Leadership Role of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from the Perspective of One Enterprise]. Praha: Argo a Ústav pro soudobé dějiny AV ČR, v. v. i., 2024. 232 s. ISBN 978-80-257-4405-5.
The book depicts the dynamics of the Czechoslovak communist regime in 1985-1989 from the perspective of the Rakovník ceramic factory. The author focuses on the political and economic influence of power networks on the functioning of a major enterprise during the late socialist period. He points out the complexity and fluidity of the relations of the ceramics plant directorate with the powerful party structure, especially with the Communist Party’s all-plant committee. By depicting everyday disputes over cadre policy, plan levels, plant modernization, and the so-called work initiative, he explains the complexity of political processes and the interaction of central, regional, local, and company institutions. The main theme of the book is an analysis of the conflicts over the implementation of the State Enterprise Law, passed in 1988. Using the example of the ceramics industry’s transformation, the author demonstrates that the Czechoslovak reform of the second half of the 1980s unintentionally strengthened the corporate sector and allowed it to develop its own economic strategies that may have been inconsistent with the interests of the party authorities.