<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Policies in liberal democracies can never be fully sheltered from the influence of interest groups. This is especially true for the flawed or immature democracies that can be found also in the post-communist world. In this study, we argue that the progress of democratization in Czechia has been accompanied by a growing influence of interest groups (local/regional governments, political parties, industrial corporations) on national defence strategy. Focusing on the spatial policy of military base distribution, the study documents deviations from a rational strategy of restructuring and relocations of military bases declared by the General Staff in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s in response to a changing geopolitical situation. The content analysis of the interviews with former actors of the defence planning and media analysis showed that one-third of current Czech military bases experienced an influence of interested groups.</p>
</abstract>

Policies in liberal democracies can never be fully sheltered from the influence of interest groups. This is especially true for the flawed or immature democracies that can be found also in the post-communist world. In this study, we argue that the progress of democratization in Czechia has been accompanied by a growing influence of interest groups (local/regional governments, political parties, industrial corporations) on national defence strategy. Focusing on the spatial policy of military base distribution, the study documents deviations from a rational strategy of restructuring and relocations of military bases declared by the General Staff in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s in response to a changing geopolitical situation. The content analysis of the interviews with former actors of the defence planning and media analysis showed that one-third of current Czech military bases experienced an influence of interested groups.

Spatial distribution of military bases and power of interest groups in an emergent democracy

Department of Human Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science

GeoScape

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Policies in liberal democracies can never be fully sheltered from the influence of interest groups. This is especially true for the flawed or immature...

Spatial distribution of military bases and power of interest groups in an emergent democracy

Published Online: Jan 05, 2023

Page range: 158 - 174

Received: Oct 27, 2022

Accepted: Dec 13, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2022-0013

Keywords
Czechia, Post-communism, Military-industrial complex, Military bases, Interest groups, Localisation

© 2022 Bohuslav Pernica et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Spatial distribution of military bases and power of interest groups in an emergent democracy

Published Online: Jan 05, 2023

Page range: 158 - 174

Received: Oct 27, 2022

Accepted: Dec 13, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/geosc-2022-0013

KeywordsCzechia, Post-communism, Military-industrial complex, Military bases, Interest groups, Localisation

© 2022 Bohuslav Pernica et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Czechia, Post-communism, Military-industrial complex, Military bases, Interest groups, Localisation