Václav Havel’s Meanings His Key Words and Their Legacy – Danaher David (2024)

At the time of his death in 2011, no one in Czech politics or culture matched Václav Havel’s international stature. Since then, his legacy has continued to grow as developments in the Czech Republic and elsewhere demonstrate the importance of his work and writing against political and social ills ranging from autocratic brutality to messianic populism. This book examines the heart of Havel’s legacy: the rich body of texts he left behind. It analyzes the meanings of key concepts in his core vocabulary, including truth, power, civil society, home, appeal, indifference, hotspot, theatre, prison, and responsibility. The contributors explore where these concepts appear in Havel’s work, the role they play in his broader intellectual project, and how his focus on them forms a central part of his contribution to contemporary thought. They also consider how Havel’s particular perspective on their meaning speaks to the present day. Ten contributors use a range of methodological approaches, drawing on political science and political philosophy, historical and cultural analysis, discourse and textual analysis, and linguistic corpus analysis.