Slovakia Prior to Joining the Euro-Atlantic Structures. Getting Ready for NATO and the EU: Political, Economic and Social Aspects

Abstract

Drawing upon earlier work by the author, the text seeks to help answering
the question of the sources of fear regarding the future integration of
Slovakia. By looking at the roots and substance of this fear, the author aims
to evaluate whether it has become unsubstantiated since the 2002 general
election. Even though Dzurinda's 1998 government has fallen short of the
voters' expectations, this has never been true in the foreign and security
policy where the government delivered on its promises. The first chapter
aims to identify the key factors, having the greatest effect on the policy- and
decision-making of Slovakia's political elite between 1998 and 2002. These
factors have been crucial in extending the country's image as being the
most problematic out of the Visegrad group. The second chapter deals with
Slovakia's internal political watershed: the 1998 general election. The
problems weakening and ultimately threatening the ruling coalition from
within are analysed as well. The third chapter discusses economic and
social aspects of Slovakia's post-1998 domestic development. The rather
unbalanced performance and the lack of achievements are examined as the
causes of doubts about the translation of Slovakia's integration ambitions
into practical outcomes. Finally, the last chapter describes the societal
perceptions in Slovakia as reflected in public opinion polls prior to the 2002
general election, summing up the election results. In answer to the
question posed at the beginning, the author closes his analysis claiming
that the current level of preparations for Slovakia's integration into both the
European and Trans-Atlantic structures guarantees that the country will
successfully join both. Despite the lack of any bullet-proof guarantee of the
stability of the country's post-2002 political scene, and in spite of potential
change of the government or early elections, Slovakia's full integration into
the European and Euro-Atlantic institutional structures in mid-2004 cannot
be prevented. Slovakia will join along with its Visegrad partners.