III.

A Programme for Reform

In April the party leadership adopted an Action Programme that clearly articulated its plans for reform. One of the most radical proposals of the Dubček leadership involved a change in its strategy of rule. Rather than relying on economic incentives (such as wage increases and improvements in the standard of living) or coercion, as did most Communist leaders of the time, Dubček and his colleagues tried to create legitimacy for the Communist system by increasing opportunities for citizens and non-party groups to participate in politics. By the summer of 1968 a number of new political groupings had formed in Czechoslovakia. The Action Programme also called for various economic reforms, including some degree of free enterprise; greater respect for political and civil liberties; more autonomy for Slovaks through a federal form of government; and the political rehabilitation of individuals persecuted under the hardline Communist regime of Klement Gottwald.

The Action Programme did not call for Czechoslovakia to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact; nor did party leaders envision the establishment of a true opposition or a multi-party system. As a result, the programme failed to satisfy some radical intellectuals outside the party leadership, who began calling for more drastic reforms. The Dubček leadership was faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, it needed to respond to the demands of these citizens in order to maintain the support of the population. On the other hand, it faced increasing disapproval from Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and his Communist Central and Eastern European allies, who were afraid that the reforms would spill over into their countries. The Soviets and their allies made known their displeasure with the events taking place in Czechoslovakia in a series of meetings held during the summer of 1968. In these meetings, the Dubček leadership pledged to maintain the leading role of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia and to continue the country’s alliance with the Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact states. However, the Czechoslovak leaders were either unable or unwilling to appease their critics by restoring tight political control in Czechoslovakia.