Resistance and Revolution: Václav Havel's Czechoslovakia

John Stanley is a policy advisor at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities.

This memoir by a Canadian diplomat offers detailed insight into a
critical period in 20th-century Czech and Slovak history. Canadian
readers may be intrigued by this insider’s notes on the breakup of a
federal state, Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately, one seldom catches a
glimpse of Canadian foreign policy at work.

In distinct contrast to its official reaction to Polish protests in
1981, Canada provided aggressive support to the tiny Czech dissident
movement of the late 1980s. Unfortunately, McRae never tells his readers
why Canada adopted this strategy in Czechoslovakia. In fact, the only

view on Canadian foreign policy is from the embassy in Prague.
“Headquarters,” as he calls then-External Affairs in Ottawa, is
always out of the frame in this snapshot. As an employee of Foreign
Affairs, McRae perhaps feels under pressure to be discrete.

McRae’s interest in and dedication to the Czech dissident movement
led by the philosopher Vбclav Havel is clearly evident. The author,
himself a philosopher, admits that the heady days of 1989 recalled his
own youth in the 1960s, when all seemed possible. The details he
provides in Resistance and Revolution will be valuable to future
chroniclers of the “Velvet Revolution.” Nonetheless, this memoir
will not bear comparison to classic, first-person accounts of other
revolutions, such as John Reed’s Ten Days that Shook the World. The
writing is rather flat, some episodes seem purposely foggy, and only the
last two chapters are long enough to provide more than a catalogue of
events.

Inevitably, this work reflects the time when it was written. McRae’s
confident assessment of Vбclav Klaus’s Thatcherite whirl as “the
most successful economic transition” has been contradicted by recent
events. His book is marred by a number of infelicities. For example, a
famous 1968 petition is called “A Thousand Words” on page 49 and
“2,000 Words” on page 82. The writers’ organization “PEN” is
termed “Pen” throughout.

Resistance and Revolution serves as a primary source for the history of
Communism’s downfall in Czechoslovakia. Despite its weaknesses, the
book provides unique insights into a critical period in the lives of the
Czech and Slovak peoples.