On-line lecture Czechia: The importance of the short country name for modern Czech statehood

• The lecture will be broadcast on Zoom 9 October at 4 p.m. (CET). 
• To join the online lecture please register here.
• An e-mail with the Zoom link will be sent to you shortly before the lecture.

This lecture will explain the difference between formal (political) and short (geographical) country names and in what contexts they are used. It will then focus on the short name of the Czech Republic in English: Czechia. It will explain its origins, history of usage, and the progress in adopting it nationally and internationally. It will consider the main reasons behind the reluctance of Czech politicians to adopt the short country name Czechia for over twenty years. The negative consequences of using the formal name “the Czech Republic” in all situations for the country brand and its international recognition will be demonstrated. The decision to adopt and internationally standardise Czechia in 2016 will be explained and the progress in the international usage of Czechia since 2016 will be evaluated.  

Prof. RNDr. Petr Pavlínek, Ph.D. is a professor of geography at the University of Nebraska Omaha and at Charles University. He has been at the forefront of the struggle to adopt the short country name Czechia. He has published four books. His fifth book, entitled Europe’s Auto Industry: Global Production Networks and Spatial Change, will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2024. Petr Pavlinek has also published more than sixty research articles and book chapters on various topics related to the automotive industry, FDI, and regional economic development. His latest article, which was published in Economic Geography in 2024, has introduced the concept of geopolitical decoupling in global production networks and focused on the development of the automotive industry in Iran.