| |
Russian and East European Institute 
The Hour of Romania, International Conference
Ethnic minorities in Eastern Europe and their political representation in the light of EU integration.
Romanian, Bulgarian and Slovak experiences
Oana Valentina-Suciu,
PhD Candidate, University of Bucharest
My paper examines the role played by Eastern European ethnic parties in the representation of their constituencies. To this effect, it focuses on the impact of EU's policies on the domestic ethnic minority policies, i.e. on the institutionalised relationship between political actors representing ethnic minorities and the majority. By using a cross-cultural perspective, the paper draws on significant examples from Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia, which are compared and contrasted in the last section of the analysis.
The recent history of Europe has led the EU to emphasize the protection of ethnic minorities in Central and Eastern Europe. Approximately one tenth of the population of this region belongs to ethnic minorities. In countries like Slovakia, Bulgaria or Romania, minorities comprise up to 15% of the population and constitute an important factor in domestic and foreign politics. Although it is less likely that ethnic minority problems might trigger violence, they continue to weigh considerably on the internal evolution of the region and on its present and future relations with the EU. The goal of the paper is also to demonstrate that politics is important for the status of ethnic groups because international norms of minority protection are still uncertainly matured and precise.
As Romania will join the EU, it will experience a series of changes affecting its sovereignty and its effective powers. Whatever the gains in other areas, it will weaken the state, and therefore power and political representation relations between majorities and minorities within Romania, as well as within the EU as a whole (with its older and newer members respectively), will probably change in different ways.
Conference Co-sponsors
Indiana University Russian and East European Institute
Indiana University Office of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculties, Multidisciplinary Ventures and Seminars Fund
Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences
Indiana University College Arts and Humanities Institute
Indiana University Office of International Programs
Indiana University Department of Comparative Literature
Indiana University Department of History
Indiana University Department of Political Science
Indiana University Department of Sociology
Indiana University European Union Center of Excellence
Romanian Cultural Institute - Institutul Cultural Roman
Consulate General of Romania – Chicago, IL
Georgetown University - Ratiu Chair
|
