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OverviewOnce the pride of interwar Czechoslovakia, and key during the forced industrialization of the Stalinist period, during the 1970s and 1980s the Czechoslovak railway sector showed the symptoms of the political tiredness and economic exhaustion of the Soviet Bloc. This book examines the failure of central economic planning through the lens of this national transport system. Based on the presentation of its history and on the detailed scrutiny of the actors, institutions, internal mechanisms, and conditions of the railway sector, the analysis reveals the identities of the real stakeholders in the state administration. This case shows how the country was governed by Communist Party institutions and government ministries, and how developments in the transportation sector—like in every sector—reflected their priorities. Numerous tables with selected statistics underscore the economic analysis and black and white photos offer a glimpse on the technical base of the railway sector. The book is filled with enlightening comparisons of the Czechoslovak transportation industry with its counterparts in the whole Eastern Bloc. Integration into the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) of the Bloc could have been an asset, yet the records have more to say about conflicts than cooperation. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Tomáš Nigrin (Director of the Institute of International Studies, Charles University, Prague)Publisher: Central European University Press Imprint: Central European University Press Weight: 0.499kg ISBN: 9789633864760ISBN 10: 9633864763 Pages: 256 Publication Date: 10 July 2022 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Rail Transport in Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1970 2.1 The First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938) 2.2 The Second Czechoslovak Republic and the Nazi Occupation (1938–1945) 2.3 Czechoslovakia After World War II (1945–1970) 2.4 Other Transport Sectors in Czechoslovakia (1918–1970) 2.5 Chapter Summary 3. Actors and Institutions of Policy-making for the Railway Sector 3.1 Actors and Institutions of Transportation Policy 3.2 Transportation Policy and the Central Plan 3.3 Institutions of the Railway Sector 3.4 The Foreign Policy of Railway Transport 3.5 Chapter Summary 4. The Internal Mechanisms of the Railway Sector 4.1 The Transportation Sector in the Central Plan 4.2 The “Real” Mechanisms in the Economy 4.3 The Economy of the Railway Sector 4.4 Political Duties: A Case Study of the Czechoslovak Spartakiad 4.5 National Security Tasks in Peace and War 4.6 Chapter Summary 5. Conditions in the Railway Sector 5.1 Case Study: Operations 5.2 Case Study: The Personnel Situation 5.3 International Cooperation 5.4 Chapter Summary 6. Conclusion Summary List of Sources and LiteratureReviews"""Tomáš Nigrin's book is a valuable contribution to the history of Czechoslovak and European railways and the history of transportation in the second half of the twentieth century. He analyzes previously unpublished sources and puts the whole problem in a broader European context."" https://muse.jhu.edu/article/903993 -- Michal Ďurčo * Technology and Culture *" By making use of extensive archival resources, Tomas Nigrin examines the role, challenges, struggles, and decline of railways in a centrally planned economy. Far from offering a romanticized history of railways, Nigrin traces the part that polity, policy, and politics played in the decline in rail transport in Czechoslovakia. In addition, his book contributes to the understanding of how the centrally planned economy worked with regards to a nationwide sector such as the Czechoslovak State Railways. --Jeffrey A. Pennington By making use of extensive archival resources, Tomas Nigrin examines the role, challenges, struggles, and decline of railways in a centrally planned economy. Far from offering a romanticized history of railways, Nigrin traces the part that polity, policy, and politics played in the decline in rail transport in Czechoslovakia. In addition, his book contributes to the understanding of how the centrally planned economy worked with regards to a nationwide sector such as the Czechoslovak State Railways.--Jeffrey A. Pennington """Tomáš Nigrin's book is a valuable contribution to the history of Czechoslovak and European railways and the history of transportation in the second half of the twentieth century. He analyzes previously unpublished sources and puts the whole problem in a broader European context."" https://muse.jhu.edu/article/903993 -- Michal Ďurčo * Technology and Culture * ""This book serves as a detailed case study of the railroads’ place in a planned economy and presents a clear example of the inefficiencies of central planning, making it a useful resource for those interested in the economic history of communist states. It often applies the logic of the market to an economic system that operated according to different principles. While the ČSD consistently failed to meet its own standards of service and reliability in the 1970s and 1980s, it also could pull off highly complex logistical tasks when politically necessary, as Nigrin demonstrates with his discussion of the railroads’ elaborate preparations for transporting participants and spectators to the Spartakiad gymnastics exhibitions."" https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php -- Mira Markham * H-Sci-Med-Tech *" Author InformationTomáš Nigrin is director of the Institute of International Studies, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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