This volume investigates the precarious geopolitical position of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1948, examining how the state navigated the rise of nationalist and fascist movements in Europe. The authors, Mark Cornwall and R. J. W. Evans, compile scholarly contributions that analyze the internal and external pressures leading to the nation's loss of independence. By focusing on the interplay between domestic political instability and the aggressive expansionism of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the text provides a framework for understanding the fragility of democratic experiments in the interwar period.

Experts recognize this collection as a significant contribution to Central European studies, particularly for its focus on a state often marginalized in broader Western historical narratives. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the high level of specialized research presented by the contributors.