Discussion and Exhibit Focus on Road to Peace
The Wilson Center, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of Slovakia, presented a historical discussion featuring Kevin McNamara, Associate Scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, and Michal Kšiňan, researcher at the Institute of the History of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, moderated by Robert S. Litwak, Senior Vice President at the Wilson Center.
Kšiňan focused his talk on the legacy of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, a renowned general and leader, and the Czechoslovak Legions. McNamara began his talk discussing the inevitability of the fall of empires. He spoke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the founding of the Czechoslovak state. He reiterated that nation-states like the Czech and Slovak Republics have the best international relations. He even referenced a 2016 poll stating that Czechs and Slovaks hold high trust and reliability in one another. He also gave his perspective on the importance of NATO and the challenges of the European Union at times.
Following the discussion, Jane Harman, President, Director, and CEO of the Wilson Center, kicked off the opening of the exhibit "Czechs and Slovaks on Their Difficult Road to Peace and Independence," followed by opening remarks by Czech Ambassador Hynek Kmoníček and Slovak Deputy Chief of Mission Jozef Polakovič.