Havel saw NATO primarily as a guarantor of values and principles comprising liberal democracy.

In Search of Allies: 

Vaclav Havel and the Expansion of NATO

by Michael Zantovsky

During the Czech Republic’s first year of existence, most Czechs felt that nothing much had happened. True, there was now a new country east of the Morava River, where they had previously gone to hike and ski without the need of a passport. But nothing had changed within the Czech lands, Bohemia, Moravia, and a stump of Silesia. They were still there, as they had been for a thousand years, a country of milk and honey, hardworking, peaceful people, known around the world for their skills, intelligence, and culture.

From the outside, the picture was slightly different. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia, there were suddenly a dozen new countries in the eastern half of Europe, an area of tumultuous changes, ethnic strife, and people killing each other in places with unpronounceable names. Czechoslovakia, yes, that rang a bell . . . although it was easy to confuse with Yugoslavia—no, that was Tito . . . Czechoslovakia was the country with great beer, a world-class ice-hockey team, the country of Alexander Dubcek and Vaclav Havel. But this new country, one did not even know what to call it—Czechia, Czech Republic, Czechlands, or simply Czech? A letter sent to me in Washington was addressed to the “Republic of the Czech Embassy.” It was in part a question of branding.

It took some time and effort to put the country back on the map, but in its first president, Vaclav Havel, the Czech Republic had perhaps its greatest asset. For proof of this, one only had to look across the border to see how much rougher the sailing was for Slovakia under Vladimir Meciar.

..........................

Read more: www.worldaffairsjournal.org