Academic literature on the topic 'Europe, Eastern – Ethnic relations – Political aspects'

The collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe promised bold opportunities for the various ethnic groups populating that vast, diverse region. Yet if history had any lessons to teach these groups it was that democracy, or at least the political systems that emerged in the midst of the rubble of the Berlin Wall between 1989 and 1991, was no guarantor of whatever idealized rights the region's ethnic groups hoped would come in the wake of the collapse of the communist dictatorships that had dominated these parts of Europe for decades. Communism, had, in many instances, done nothing more than stifle the festering ethnic tensions that had exploded in the nineteenth century and short-circuited the complex, lengthy process of resolving these conflicts. Consequently, for those knowledgeable about the essence of these conflicts, it should have come as no surprise that Yugoslavia, for example, was torn asunder by ethnic violence so terrifying that it took the intervention of the Western world's great powers to end the most violent aspects of these wars of ethnicity.

When we compare the contemporary ethnic structure and national policy of Poland and its eastern neighbours, we can see clear asymmetry in both quantitative and legal-institutional aspects. There is currently a markedly smaller population of Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians living in Poland than the Polish population in the territories of our eastern neighbours. At the same time, the national minorities in Poland enjoy wider rights and better conditions to operate than Poles living in Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Additional complicating factor in bilateral relations between national minority and the home state is different political status of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine and different processes of transformation the consequence of which is differentiated state of political relations of Poland with its eastern neighbours. Lithuania, like Poland, is a member of EU, Ukraine, outside the structures of European integration, pursued a variable foreign policy, depending on the ruling options and the economic situation, and Belarus, because of internal policy which is unacceptable in the EU countries, is located on the political periphery of Europe.

The aim of the article is to present the specific nature of research on the issues of national relations in a totalitarian state based on the example of the lands of Central and Eastern Europe under the Soviet occupation from 1939-1941. In order to achieve this, the literature on the subject (in English and Polish) was reviewed as well as the most important methodological problems encountered by researchers. The research program was also outlined, along with a proposal for their conceptualization in the form of signalling the main aspects of the above-mentioned issues, including the specificity of the Soviet occupation of 1939-1941, social and ethnic relations in this area, and the Soviet nationalities policy. Several research methods and postulates were proposed, as well as perspectives and theoretical approaches that could facilitate the study of this complex and controversial subject, e.g., the interdisciplinary nature of research, methods of bottom-up formation of political attitudes of the population (the so-called “bottom-up” method), application of theories of the totalitarian state, and different theories of ethnicity. As a result, an interdisciplinary program of comparative studies of ethnic relations in Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet rule (1939-1941) was outlined, taking into account the transnational character of historical processes and the need to conduct micro historic analyses and case studies that would allow capturing of the diversity of ethnic relations and verify the effectiveness of the policy of the central Soviet authorities. The article argues that it seems obvious that the specificity of the analysed problematics can be properly grasped only by consideration it in the historical and theoretical context, adopting a comparative and transnational approach, from a micro-historical as well as everyday-life perspective that highlights the most important social factors which facilitated changes in interethnic relations.

Background. The increase in the complexity of the social and political situation of Eastern European countries raises questions about securitization of national and ethnic minorities and its impact on the management of ethno-politics in the coun­tries of the subregion. Ethnopolitical management corresponds to the security of the subregion. Research interest in securitization of minority affairs is current, especially after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Research aims. The purpose is to define the role of securitization of national and ethnic minorities issues in the management of ethno-politics in Eastern Europe­an countries. The research area encompasses: Belarus, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The author asks the following research questions: 1) What are the areas of securitization of the issues of national and ethic minorities concerned? 2) How does the securitization of the issues of national and ethnic minorities take place? 3) How does the securitization affect the process of ethnopolitical management in the studied countries? Methodology. An interdisciplinary research approach was applied, integrat­ing methods from political science, international relations and management. The conclusions from author’s own research carried out during foreign study trips in the years 2014–2017 were used. The literature has an interdisciplinary aspect. The realization of the goal is based on the application of a catalogue of research methods, including in detail, the following methods are mainly used in the re­search: system analysis; comparative method; behavioral method; a qualitative approach was also used in the realized research. The article uses the method of critical analysis of literature, where the concept of securitization is referred to. Key findings. The role of securitization of national and ethnic minorities in the management of ethnopolitics in the countries of Eastern Europe is diversi­fied (it concerns different minorities and different areas). Uncontrolled may lead to deepening of the subregion’s security crisis (inter alia, to ethnopolitical con­flicts), hindering the process of ethnopolitical management.

Over the past 25 years, my academic and work experiences have involved and intersected with biopolitics, particularly environmental policy, international relations, and ethics. My academic and teaching experience was in political theory and ethics, and my early research interests turned to emerging recombinant DNA issues, involving the complex interaction of biological science, technology and public policy processes. My scholarly contacts included those with similar concerns, and so I joined with a group of scholars creating the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences. Several years later, my interests brought me to work in a federal agency where public policy decisions often raise important ethical choices, and the political and behavioral aspects of the policy process became more evident. My research centered on issues related to environmental protection. This work was also influenced by my professional friendship with Lynton Caldwell, another APLS founder and a remarkable scholar, whose work on environmental politics was internationally recognized. After the implosion of the Soviet Union, teaching environmental policy for the Agency in Eastern Europe renewed my interest in international relations, which had been my undergraduate focus. The topic of environmental security combined all of these interests. This topic gained substantial attention in policy circles, then declined, but is now being discussed again.

Over the past 25 years, my academic and work experiences have involved and intersected with biopolitics, particularly environmental policy, international relations, and ethics. My academic and teaching experience was in political theory and ethics, and my early research interests turned to emerging recombinant DNA issues, involving the complex interaction of biological science, technology and public policy processes. My scholarly contacts included those with similar concerns, and so I joined with a group of scholars creating the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences. Several years later, my interests brought me to work in a federal agency where public policy decisions often raise important ethical choices, and the political and behavioral aspects of the policy process became more evident. My research centered on issues related to environmental protection. This work was also influenced by my professional friendship with Lynton Caldwell, another APLS founder and a remarkable scholar, whose work on environmental politics was internationally recognized. After the implosion of the Soviet Union, teaching environmental policy for the Agency in Eastern Europe renewed my interest in international relations, which had been my undergraduate focus. The topic of environmental security combined all of these interests. This topic gained substantial attention in policy circles, then declined, but is now being discussed again.

In his article the Author examines the notion of remembrance policy, the importance of remembering the events of the period 1939–1953 for contemporary identity politics in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as well as the course of a conflict about the memory, which escalated between those countries and Russia particularly between 2005–2010. The Author introduces a term “remembrance policy model”, which concerns the balance of powers among political actors in a given state, who influence the shape of this aspect of the state policy. He also analyses the state strategies of the remembrance policy in international relations within the region, with special attention to Lithuania and Ukraine. He examines reasons for the success of the policy of remembering the 1939–1953 events in Lithuania in 1991–2011 and a failure of such policy in Ukraine in 2005–2010. The sources of difference between the effects of these two policies lie, in his opinion, not only in far greater ethnic and identity homogeneity of the Lithuanian society, but also in the fact that the EU gave an early, clear and consistent support for economic, social and political transformation of that country, which was, unfortunately, not provided to Ukraine — either after its establishment in 1991, or after the Orange Revolution in 2004.

Slavs in the European reflection of Iberia. Overview and perspectivesThe author focuses on presenting the major determinants of the ways in which Slavs have been included/excluded within the European horizon on the part of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, from Modernity until present-day Iberian-Slavonic cultural encounters. This subject-matter is considered in two of its aspects – on the one hand, newest research trends are discussed; on the other, the author analyses Iberian literary and journalist texts on attitudes towards Slavs.The place Iberians reserved in their reflections on Europe for Slavs – especially from Russia, Poland and the Balkans – was at different times determined by two types of factors: those immanent to any process of “reading the Other,” and those arising from the abundance of ethnic, political and/or national perspectives in which Slavs could present themselves. As a result, ethnic and cultural aspects of Slavonic countries in the common knowledge of Iberians are mixed up with their geographical, national and political connections (as “Eastern Europeans”, “Balkans”, “countries of the former Eastern Bloc and/or Yugoslavia” etc.). Another factor influencing the general trends in the perception of Slavs is geographical distance, making this group an easy target for stereotyping and mythicizing. A category determining the Iberian “reading” of Slavs is also that of the periphery, a notion important (though in different ways) for both the analysed regions. The complex nature of Iberians’ identity had an impact on their relations with Slavs in the 19th and 20th centuries; the resulting attitude, marked as it is by the inferiority/superiority question, was expressed particularly strongly around the process of the 5th EU Enlargement (mid-1990s to 2004), which sealed the emergence of closer Iberian-Slavonic relations intra muros, dating back at least from the collapse of the USSR. These relations were initiated by migrants from the East (who featured in new motives taken up by Iberian literatures), predominantly Ukrainians. Outside of the Peninsula, intercultural encounters took place not in small part as a result of a rapid eastward expansion of Iberian business. Finally, the 21st century saw the establishment and theoretical elaboration of Iberian-Slavonic comparative research. Activities of this kind always imply intercultural encounters and thus are well suited to help work out a scholarly and cultural formula that could yield more coherent depictions of Slavs. The newly founded associations, institutions, research and cultural centres – while respecting the complex identity of each of the Slavonic nations – present to their Iberian partners an image of united Slavs. It is this trend that allows the author to move forward the analysis, and proceed from “overview” to “perspectives.” Słowianie w europejskiej refleksji Iberii. Przegląd i perspektywy Autorka artykułu skupia się na przedstawieniu głównych uwarunkowań sposobów włą­czania/wyłączania Słowian z europejskiej perspektywy przez mieszkańców Półwyspu Ibe­ryjskiego w okresie od nowożytności po współczesne iberyjsko‑słowiańskie doświadczenia kulturowe. Zagadnienia te prezentuje w dwu aspektach, z jednej strony wskazuje najnowsze kierunki badań w tej dziedzinie, z drugiej – analizuje iberyjskie teksty literackie i dzienni­karskie poświęcone postawom wobec Słowian.Miejsca wyznaczane Słowianom przez mieszkańców Półwyspu Iberyjskiego w ich eu­ropejskiej refleksji – przy szczególnej pozycji zarezerwowanej dla Rosji, Polski i Bałkanów – bywały determinowane dwoma typami czynników, immanentnymi wobec każdego pro­cesu czytania Obcego, jak również wynikającymi ze szczególnej mieszaniny etnicznych, politycznych i/oraz narodowych perspektyw, w jakich mogli się zaprezentować Słowianie. W efekcie etniczne i kulturowe cechy krajów słowiańskich mieszają się w przeciętnej wiedzy mieszkańców Półwyspu Iberyjskiego z innymi odniesieniami: geograficznymi, narodowymi i politycznymi (jak „wschodni Europejczycy”, „Bałkany”, kraje byłego „bloku wschodniego” itd.). Wśród ogólnych nurtów recepcji można również wskazać wpływ dystansu geograficz­nego, który czyni ze Słowian łatwy cel stereotypizacji i mityzacji. Kolejna kategoria determi­nująca iberyjskie „czytanie” Słowian to peryferyjność, kwestia istotna (choć w różny sposób) dla obu analizowanych obszarów. Złożoność tożsamości iberyjskiej miała również wpływ na relacje ze Słowianami w XX i XXI wieku. Silniej ta postawa, tak naznaczona problematyką wyższości/niższości, ujawniła się w okresie piątego rozszerzenia Unii Europejskiej (połowa lat dziewięćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku do 2004 roku), które pieczętowało proces bliższych iberyjsko‑słowiańskich relacji intra muros, trwający co najmniej od upadku ZSRR. Ich ini­cjatorami byli emigranci ze Wschodu (pojawili się na przykład w nowych motywach literatur iberyjskich), przeważnie Ukraińcy. Poza Półwyspem do międzykulturowych spotkań do­chodziło m.in. dzięki znacznej ekspansji na Wschód przedstawicieli iberyjskich kół bizne­sowych. Już w XXI wieku zainicjowano i szeroko rozpropagowano w Hiszpanii i Portugalii iberyjsko‑słowiańskie badania porównawcze. Tego typu działalność, zawsze powiązana ze spotkaniami międzykulturowymi, pomaga w wypracowaniu formuły zarówno badawczej, jak i kulturowej, użytecznej w tworzeniu bardziej koherentnych wizerunków Słowian. Nowo powstałe stowarzyszenia, instytucje, ośrodki naukowe i kulturalne, respektując złożoną toż­samość każdego z narodów słowiańskich, prezentują iberyjskim partnerom również obraz Słowian zjednoczonych. Ta właśnie tendencja pozwala przejść w niniejszej analizie od części pierwszej – „Przegląd” do drugiej – „Perspektywy”.

The article investigates nation-building trajectories and civic identity formation in Eastern Europe. The indicated processes in Eastern European states are notably different from those in the Western part of Europe. They are hindered by the specific historical development of these countries and by a set of local characteristics in particular. Quite often, there are such obstacles as unresolved ethnic conflicts and non-involvement of minorities in the building of common political and public practices within the state. The paper aims at assessing the current situation, evaluating international and interethnic regulation practices in the region and their efficiency, working out criteria of a civic nation formation in Eastern European countries. This is, first of all, a question of sociocultural and political consolidation. Social activism and civic participation are also significant factors. Finally, the very nature of nationalism and the use of the “alien image” in relation to other ethnic groups within the state are important. On this basis, the article proposes a typology of the countries according to the stage of a civic identity formation, and assesses possible future developments. Acknowledgements. This article was prepared with financial support of the Russian Science Foundation [grant № 15-18-00021 “Regulating interethnic relations and managing ethnic and social conflicts in the contemporary world: the resource potential of civic identity (a comparative political analysis)”]. The research was conducted at the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO).

Defence date: 18 December 2017
Examining Board: Professor Hans-Peter Blossfeld, European University Institute (Supervisor); Professor Anna Triandafyllidou, European University Institute; Professor Zsuzsa Csergő Queen’s University; Professor Matthias vom Hau, Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals
This thesis puts in a new light the old problem of institutional design for ethnically divided societies. The lens through which I examine this question is mass education, a key mechanism of cultural reproduction and ethno-national homogenization. In doing so I integrate the insights of various intellectual traditions, including the most recent developments in the field of comparative ethnicity and nationalism, as well as neoinstitutional analysis. The logic and method of the thesis is comparative, based on case studies from Europe’s Eastern periphery. It draws its evidence from a variety of sources, including interview material and the related historiography. I begin by delineating the general research problem, reviewing the existing theoretical and empirical literature, and outlining the place of my study in it. A historical and contemporary examination of the basic demographic and policy frameworks in East-Central Europe follows, with the aim of familiarizing the reader with the overall factual context within which the thesis is framed. This leads to the discussion of the comparative logic adopted and the overall methodological approach. The next three analytical chapters interrogate a different sub-question each, based on the contrasting assessment of a pair of carefully selected cases. Despite their differences in substance, approach, and design, these analyses jointly advance the understanding of the drivers of institutional choice and change in ethnically divided societies. But they also go beyond that in their explorations of the ways culture, identity and politics interlink more generally.
Chapter 2 'Culture and politics in Europe’s Eastern periphery' of the thesis draws upon an earlier article published as an article 'The education of minorities in Bulgaria and Romania : analyzing the formation and articulation of preferences' (2016) in the journal 'Ethnicities'

Defence date: 12 November 1999
Examining board: Prof. Colin Crouch (EUI - Supervisor); Prof. Jolanta Kulpińska (Uniwersytet Łódzki); Prof. Marino Regini (Università di Milano); Prof. Michel Wieviorka (EHESS Paris - co-supervisor)
First made available online 18 September 2017

The introductory chapter gives insight into the major topics of the book. It stresses the fact that the major actors of jihadism were of Muslim immigration origin but also include a minority of middle-class converts from secular Europe. The notion of “total social fact,” coined by Marcel Mauss, a major French anthropologist, is used to give a comprehensive picture of jihadism as a social phenomenon involving urban sociology (many came from the so-called poor districts, but also some came from some middle-class districts), ethnic relations (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Moroccan, Algerian), national political culture (in France Laïcité, in Great Britain multiculturalism), family (the crisis in family among many jihadis), gender (a significant minority), and generation. From my viewpoint, all these aspects are to be taken into account in order to make sense of jihadism in Europe.

In the constitution adopted after the fall of the Ceauşescu regime, Romania was declared a unitary nation-state, which was an obstacle to granting autonomy to two counties of Eastern Transylvania where ethnic Hungarians make up the vast majority of the population. Nevertheless, this issue continues to be part of the political life of Romania, periodically increasing the tension in relations between Bucharest not only with the Hungarian parties of Romania, but also with the Hungarian government that supports these parties. The fundamental differences in approach to the problem of the status of the Hungarian minority in Transylvania did not, however, become an obstacle to the progressive development of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between the two neighboring countries. Owing to the fact that the Hungarian national consciousness continues to perceive the loss of Transylvania as painful, “wars” of historical memory flare up from time to time between Romania and Hungary. However, pragmatic considerations, and, above all, mutual interest in economic cooperation, contribute to overcoming any conflicts that emerge.

This essay is about the work of Otto Tolnai, a contemporary Hungarian poet and writer, living in Vojvodina, Serbia. In the focus of my analysis, there is his journal entitled “A Philatelist from Pompeii” which he started writing in the time of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. In this journal, as in his whole work, Tolnai transforms the political formula “spiritualization of borders” into an aesthetical concept. The formula “spiritualization of borders” spread among Hungarian politicians and intellectuals after the collapse of Kádár-regime. It was a new concept aimed to provide a good solution for the problems of ethnic Hungarian minorities in Romania, former Yugoslavia, and Slovakia. Since 1989 when the international borders in Central Europe have definitely become more transparent, it was hoped that after the Eastern enlargement of the EU, the transboundary cooperation could abolish the ethnic and cultural significance of state borders. Аеsthetic formula „spiritualization of borders” is connected with the concept of transitive identity in Tolnai’s autopoetic world. In this chapter, I study spatial and temporal aspects of transitive identity and analyse those literary tools (for example mythologisation of names, mixture of different genres, essayistic, commentaries of philosophical works, and political events), with the help of which Tolnai successfully deconstructs the opposition between the political categories of majority and minority.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of how separatism in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries poses a paradox. On the one hand, the world is ostensibly coming together through globalization. On the other, the territorial integrity of nations appears fragile in most regions. The chapter explains that the book argues that countries torn by separatist movements since the Cold War cannot be adequately understood without an appreciation of organized crime. Far from passive by-products or trivial catalysts, mafias can play a decisive, autonomous role in shaping state-separatist relations, promoting or hindering secession, and fueling war. Transnational processes — of mafia expansion, chronic smuggling, and patrimonial governance — critically shape national processes of ethnic mobilization, border reconfiguration, and state collapse. Through a comparative historical analysis of the role of organized crime in West Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, the book examines understudied dynamics of territorial consolidation in torn states. By nourishing, infiltrating, and even co-opting governments and separatist movements, mafias have the power to mold the basic political units of the world.