'Ik hoop maar dat ze hun hand niet overspelen.': De Fluwelen Revolutie door de ogen van de Nederlandse ambassade in Praag. (Dutch/Flemish)

'I just hope they don't overplay their hand.' The Velvet Revolution through the eyes of the Dutch embassy in Prague. (English)

'I just hope they don't overplay their hand.' The Velvet Revolution through the eyes of the Dutch embassy in Prague This article analyses the perception of the Dutch embassy in Prague of the 1989 Velvet Revolution. The embassy's analyses from late October 1989 reflect the idea that a confrontation between rulers and opposition was inevitable and identified several dates this might happen. Expecting the confrontation to take place in December, the Dutch diplomats missed the early phase of the demonstrations that brought the communist regime to its knees. While they did not rule out the possibility of a violent crackdown along the lines of the Chinese example of June 1989, they did not consider it very likely. Even so, this concern seems to have informed the caution present in the embassy's analyses in the first ten days of the upheaval. Triumphalism was lacking even though the intended outcome, political change, had been a core element in Dutch policy towards Czechoslovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)