Policies – Interests – Energy. Energy Crises, Security and Society in Central Europe in the 20th Century

The Institute of History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the National Archives, the Faculty of Arts, Charles University and the Faculty of Arts, University of South Bohemia, would like to invite you to the jointly organized conference that will take place on 14 and 15 September in the Congress Hall of the National Archives (Archivní 2257/4, 149 00 Prague 4).

Programme

In 2023 it will be 50 years since the oil crisis of 1973, which brought industrialised European countries, and later, following the economic problems of the USSR, also Central European countries in the Soviet Bloc, knowledge of the vulnerability of their economic prosperity and security, as well as awareness of their critical dependence on supplies of raw energy materials and the key importance of available and cheap energy for maintaining social cohesion, state security, and a resilient society. The industrialised world was able to cope with a deep energy crisis caused by a high increase in the price of oil, while in the Soviet Bloc, paradoxically as a result of “deferred price increases“, crisis conditions deepened, which after a decade and a half, together with other factors, half-baked economic reforms and growing systemic malfunctions, lead to the collapse of real socialism. However, individual European countries also suffered similar problems in the past, either occasionally or in the long term, depending on the technologies used at the time and the availability of basic fuel and energy sources. This was the case regardless of the ruling political system or geopolitical location.

The aim of the conference is to assess the issue of fuel and energy provision in Central Europe during the 20th century, and at the same time examine the connection between energy, security, interests (business, society and state) and politics in various social systems.

Invitation

Contact and registration: david.hubeny@nacr.cz

Conference languages: Czech, Slovak, English, German and Ukrainian (no translation)