1. The Dual Consequences of Politicization of Ethnicity in Romania
- Author:
- Monica Andriescu and Sergiu Gherghina
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Abstract:
- The processes of nation and state formation have been challenged in specific ways by the transitions in post-Communist Europe. The number of ethnic minorities, their territorial concentration and strength generated situations in which either state division was imminent (e.g. former Yugoslavia) or secession threats were latent. Many political actors transformed these situations into (personal or own group) advantages. Among the new democracies in which ethnicity could be considered a relevant societal division, Romania is an appealing case due to its developments over time. The violent clashes between the majority population and the Hungarian minority in 1990, in the aftermath of regime change, appeared to set the pace of the inter-ethnic relations after the regime change. In this context, the politicization of ethnicity to spawn national and ethnic solidarity in Romania was the logical consequence. How did this process influence the evolution of inter-ethnic relations in post-communist Romania?
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Governance, Law, and Minorities
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Romania