Founding elections campaign analysis: Czechoslovakia in 1920, 1946 and 1990

The thesis deals with founding elections in Czechoslovakia in 1920, 1946, and 1990. A typical mention of these elections would describe them simply as the first elections after a regime change, and go no further. This diachronic analysis, based on elections campaigns as recorded in party-aligned newspapers, attempts to depict the broader aspect of founding elections and recapture the dynamic processes typical for such transition periods. Election campaigns are strongly influenced by the special character of founding elections. Campaigning not only reflects recent changes in the society but also formulates demands on its future development. Perceptions of the current situation reflect mutual relationships in between parties. The resulting character of election campaigns is a combination of these factors, plus others such as the media scene or the general mood in the society. The thesis thus tries to understand how political subjects behave in their founding election campaigns. Even though this behaviour varies wildly depending on background conditions, all political parties tend to focus their campaigns around the future course of the country