Abstract:
When democratization comes to the Czech Republic, the nation's newly-emerging political system faces a powerful ethical problem. How should it deal with those who participated in, or were involved with, the former Communist regime? Like other former Warsaw Pact countries, the Czech Republic ultimately develops a "lustration" policy designed either to bar or allow one's political participation. This policy comes under pressure, however, when a former leading exiled dissident named Jan Kavan comes under fire for allegedly having aided the former regime. The ambiguity of Kavan's saga frames a challenging ethics discussion.