Publication

This policy paper examines how the Czech Republic has tackled the diverse challenges of defense reform - from force restructuring to the arms industrial adjustment to environmental protection - and the many factors, internal and external, that have shaped the process. The author highlights the important role of NATO entry in 1999 and assistance from NATO members in the run-up to accession had in boosting the Czech Republic’s defense performance on all fronts. He analyses the status of defense reforms as of mid-2006, the visions for the future and some of the pitfalls that defense planners and Czech society will need to avoid.