1 StaroňovaĽ K.Ľ & Malíkovἠď. (2003). Policy making under coalition politics in Slovakia. Sociológia-Slovak Sociological Review, (3), 195-228. POLICY MAKING UNDER COALITION POLITICS IN SLOVAKIA By Katarína Staroňová and ďudmila Malíková 1 Since gaining its independence in 1993, Slovakia has been characterised by a multiparty system, where a number of political subjects are represented in parliament, and consequently by a system where coalition governments are formed. So far, three different types of coalition governments can be distinguished: one party dominant during Meciar Government (1994-1998), broad coalition Government of Mr. Dzurinda (1998-2002) and newly created right wing oriented Government after elections in September 2002. 2 There exist many differences and similarities among these three types of coalition governments. However, instead of inspecting the typology and quality of the coalitions themselves, this paper strives to reveal the impact of the coalitions on its policy making capacity. Thus, rather than examining cleavages in the Slovak political system, we will focus on analysing the nature of the parties, the shifting, alliance and coalition making among the parties and party blocks during these periods and most importantly on its effect in policy making. Inevitably, the paper will highlight the particularities within the coalition governments in Slovakia, reveal the possible reasons and conditions for coalition forming; and focus on the possible consequences of the intra-coalition relationships involved on the stability of the state administration and its policy making capacity. 1. Political-Constitutional Backgrounds of the Coalition Government: The tradition of the pluralistic parliamentary democracy dates back to the First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) that adhered to a system closely modelled on the French one. Already at those times the system was characterized by the existence of too many political parties (twenty-nine altogether, with fourteen parties represented in the parliament), which were organized along narrow interests of diverse groups in the country and thus contributed to numerous political tensions and conflicts 3 . Naturally, the cornerstone of the government during the two decades of the First Czechoslovak Republic was a series of four coalitions: the all-national, the red-green, the citizen parties, and the broad bureaucratic coalition. After the fall of communism in 1989, Czechoslovakia reverted to a system of proportional representation for parliamentary elections, and this continued in Slovakia after the division of Czechoslovakia in 1992. The first free parliamentary elections held in 1990 gave the coalition of Civic Forum (Czech movement) / Public Against Violence 1 Katarína Staroňová is a PhD. Candidate at Comenius University, Department of Political Science and at the time of article writing a Junior Scholar at Woodrow Wilson International CenterĽ USA. ďudmila Malíková is Associate Professor at Comenius University, Department of Political Science, Bratislava, Slovakia. 2 This article does not intend to open the discussion on coalition theories, rather it focuses on policy making under coalitions. Therefore, it uses the terminology developed by a working group on politico-administrative relations lead by Tony Verheijen, World Bank. Thus, this article is a part of a broader comparative publication on coalition governments and their impact on policy making in Central and Eastern Europe to be published in 2003. 3 The new Czechoslovak republic was a unitary state that had to represent the interests of both Czech and Slovak nations as well as a considerable number of minorities (German, Hungarian, Ruthenian, Jewish). Toma, Kovac (2001), 79-92.