Czechs & Balances with Jiří Pehe

In this episode of .think atlantic, IRI’s Thibault Muzergues is joined by Jiří Pehe to discuss the Czech general elections which will be held on October 8th and 9th. Jiří Pehe is Director of New York University in Prague, and head of NYU’s Prague Institute for Democracy. He arrived in the US as a political refugee in the early 1980s, and graduated from Columbia University in 1985. He worked at Freedom House and then became Director of Central European Research at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Returning to Prague, he joined Václav Havel’s Cabinet as Director of the Political Department and later served as his personal advisor. Jiří is also the author of hundreds of analytical studies as well as several books on developments in Central and Eastern Europe, focusing especially on transitions to democracy. Are these elections a referendum on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš? How to explain the fall of Pirates/Mayors coalition? What kind of coalitions are expected after the elections? What is the position of Czech Republic regarding the EU at the moment? What about its foreign policy made of different voices? Thibault and his guest discuss all these questions – and much more. Find Jiří on Twitter: @JiriPehe Find Thibault on Twitter: @tmuzergues Visit IRI’s website at www.iri.org