![\"\"](\"\/pardeeschool\/files\/2017\/12\/Czech.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIgor Lukes<\/a>, Professor of International Relations and History\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>at the\u00a0<\/span>Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University,<\/a>\u00a0published a recent article examining whether political protests in the\u00a0<\/span>Czech Republic can lead to meaningful change.<\/p>\n The article, entitled “Can Czech Republic\u2019s Massive Protests Translate into Real Political Change?<\/a>” was published in\u00a0The Globe Post<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>on June 25, 2019.<\/p>\n From the text of the article:<\/p>\n The Czech economy is going great guns, and the capital Prague \u2013 with its ancient palaces, churches, and golden spires \u2013 attracts armies of tourists who come to spend happily and with abandon. The country has enjoyed a degree of prosperity that is without precedent. Yet, its public squares are full of angry protesters reminiscent of the famous Velvet Revolution of 1989 that brought down the old regime and freed the country after 40 years of Moscow-imposed communism.<\/p>\n Why do successful citizens protest in the middle of their lucky streak? It is a paradox that deserves explaining. But first some background.<\/p>\n The Poles resisted communism from the moment the Red Army entered their country at the end of the war. In 1980, they formed Solidarity, an independent trade union that helped delegitimize Soviet rule over Eastern Europe and brought about its dissolution 30 years ago. It was in Poland that communism was defeated, and it was the Poles who gave the impetus for the collapse of the Soviet bloc.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n