Civilia 2025, 16(1):2-16 | DOI: 10.5507/civ.2025.011

"A promising but unsuccessful constitutional transplant": the First Republic Senate from an institutional perspectiveOriginal contributions, Original article, Research article

Jakub Charvát

Metropolitní univerzita Praha, Katedra politologie a anglofonních studií

Although bicameral legislatures have been accepted and respected in many countries, historically, second parliamentary chambers have been called into question in many unitary countries. This phenomenon was also evident in the interwar period in Czechoslovakia. The present interpretative case study focuses on analysing the position of the Senate in the political system of the First Czechoslovak Republic (1920–1938), using Russell's three-dimensional approach as the framework for analysis, combining the factors of formal powers, compositional congruence, and perceived legitimacy as sources of power for the second chambers of bicameral parliaments. The case study concluded that, although the constitutional status of the Senate was significant, it was not a decisive factor in making it a secondary institution in the political system of the First Republic with only limited political influence. Instead, the contemporary attitude towards the institution and its perception by society, and particularly politicians, was considerably more decisive.

Keywords: Czechoslovakia, First Republic, bicameralism, Senate, legitimacy

Grants and funding:

Článek byl vydán v rámci projektu Interního grantového systému MUP č. E80/91 financovaného z podpory MŠMT na specifický vysokoškolský výzkum v roce 2021 a 2022.

Received: August 3, 2025; Revised: August 3, 2025; Accepted: September 30, 2025; Published: February 9, 2026  Show citation