(Mis)Interpreting Vaclav Havel: Conviction and Responsibility in Post-Communist Politics

This article examines Vaclav Havel’s alleged failure to understand the need for a “realistic” approach to post-communist politics and the criticisms of his insistence on retaining his principles and focus on morality in his conduct as president of Czechoslovakia in the early 1990s. It argues that these criticisms do not stand up against an examination either of how Havel actually behaved in this period or of his writings and statements concerning his actions and beliefs, that they are based on a misunderstanding of what Havel hoped to achieve as president, and make unjustified assumptions concerning the desirability of Western political and economic systems in the early post-communist period. This article seeks to clarify Havel’s perception of his role as president, of the goals of the revolution and what he personally hoped to achieve, and his understanding of the opportunity that had been offered to Czechoslovakia by the fall of the communist government.