By hjensen95
The political climate in the Czech Republic is vastly different than that in the states, to say the least. The Czech Republic was under communist regime until 1989, it has only been a democracy since 1989 and was officially founded in 1992. The Czech Republic was formed (previously Czechoslovakia) when members of the parliament voted to pass a law officially separating the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
Thus, making The Czech Republic one of the newest countries. Prague (and the Czech Republic) has a rich history of political turmoil, most famously known for the velvet revolution. The Czech Republic is a “unitary parliamentary constitutional republic” where the President serves as the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. The current PM is Bohuslav Sobotka and the current president is Miloš Zeman.
Of course, I can’t escape American politics while abroad. I’m constantly asked about my views on Trump, the election and the political climate in DC. I thought, leaving DC for a semester would give me a bit of a political break, I was completely wrong. I think my political engagement has increased from going abroad. This has happened on two tiers; both when I meet locals in Prague and traveling other places in Europe and within the academic setting within my courses.
The odd thing about study abroad is the grouping of students from schools around the country – each bringing with them their regional/ collegiate cultures and political views. I’ve been engaging in a lot of in-classroom political discussion within the frame of European politics. For example, there have been many parallels between European politics (such as Brexit) and the recent election. It’s impossible not to bring your point of view with you, and I’ve found the reflection between U.S. and European political discussion very interesting.
The first question I receive when I meet a foreigner and politics comes up is, “did I vote for Trump?” I usually give them my answer, and then attempt to explain my point of view on what happened in the election, the outcomes, and why I think it happened. I intentionally mention multiple times that this is my point of view and doesn’t represent the view of a larger group of people. I do this because I’ve seen this problem so many times over again, that if someone in the majority (say, a Czech person in Prague) gets the point of view from a minority (an American student in Prague) they take that as a representation of the whole.