Lessons in citizenship building: The power of social movements in the Czech Republic

This thesis engages three themes from social science theory--citizenship, social movements and civil society--to help unravel the civic identity of the individual from a post-totalitarian society. The field research was conducted in the Czech Republic; human rights and feminism were the selected social movement case studies. Interviews were conducted with key members from these selected movements. A new public identity, in the face of daunting social ills and the debilitating legacy of authoritarian rule, is critical to the emergence of civil society during this post-totalitarian phase. Analysis of the development of this identity will offer guidance to those nascent democracies which seek alternative mechanisms for themselves to strengthen the collective experience of expressing common interests and goals. Civil society as an arena for this expression is a critical precondition for development of citizenship in states recovering from repressive economic, political and social systems. Most importantly, civil society fosters a healthy connection between the bureaucracy of institutional politics and the private citizen.