20th Anniversary of Havel’s Speech in the U.S. Congress



Today, Havel’s historic speech was commemorated at an event held in the U.S. Capitol, with remarks offered by several distinguished panelists including the former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Ambassador of the Czech Republic Petr Kolář. They shared historical analysis, policy recommendations, and personal stories, including Madeleine Albright’s memories of helping to organize Mr. Havel’s visit to the U.S. and his Congressional appearance. She also discussed the complex nature of democratic transformation that Havel referred to in his speech.

“Democracy is much harder than it looks. It’s not an event, it’s a process,” she said. “Elections are necessary but not sufficient.” Indeed, she added that even the countries considered as success stories of transition are still missing some elements of the infrastructure of democracy that need to be worked on to provide better democratic accountability and inspire a sense of responsibility among citizens, since democracy cannot work without public participation. That is precisely the lesson that CIPE draws from its work in Central Europe and around the world, emphasizing that this necessary public participation must include public-private dialogue and building market institutions together with democratic institutions in order for democracy to deliver.