In order to gain access to the EU, nations must be seen to implement formal instruments that protect the rights of minorities. This book examines the ways in which these tools have worked in a number of post-communist states, and explores the interaction of domestic and international structures that determine the application of these policies.Using empirical examples and comparative cases, the text explores three levels of policy-making: within sub-state and national politics, and ...

This book assesses the underpinning role ‘references to identity’ played and continue to play as the powerful mobilising force in domestic politics across the East European region stretching from Estonia to Bulgaria.The EU membership of postcommunist states was to ensure stability, prevent conflict and eventually guarantee equality of all citizens regardless of their political preferences or ethnic identities. However, the promotion of such norms and values has been secondary to co...

The interest in minority protection emerged during the period of democratic transition, particularly of ethnically segmented postcommunist societies after the end of the Cold War. Minority issues became prominent as postcommunist states lined up as potential candidates for EU membership and the respect for and protection of minority rights was an essential part of criteria these states had to fulfil before EU accession. Minority rights protection has constituted an important ‘gatekeeping’ ...

What role does the protection of citizens abroad play in motivating states’ policies? How does citizenship of non-residents map onto domestic nation-building projects? And in what ways do extraterritorial citizenship issues differ from those related to diaspora and migration?This volume develops a new analytical framework for emerging research on how states establish relationships with non-resident citizens and resident non-citizens. It provides new insights on the changing relatio...

Consociational Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland, from leading scholars in the field, explores the evolution and challenges of consociational power-sharing in Northern Ireland for politics and societal relations.Contributors to this book highlight that scholarship on consociational democracy anticipates political stability and continuous integration in post-conflict societies. However, over 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement concerns remain about the adequacy of co...

Twenty years after the demise of communist policy, this book evaluates the continuing communist legacies in the current minority protection systems and legislations across a number of states in post-communist Europe.The fall of communism and the process of democratisation across post-communist Europe led to considerable change in minority protection with new systems and national political institutions either developed or copied. In general, the new institutions reflected the practi...

Antiziganism is a widespread phenomenon in all European societies. Poor or rich, `postcommunist` or `traditional`, North or South, with `lean` or `thick` welfare systems - all European societies demonstrate antiziganist prejudice. All across Europe Romanis are among the poorest, most destitute, and most excluded communities. Widespread prejudice and stereotypical representations of Romani individuals limit their chances for participation in democratic decision making processes and their ac...

This is a book about the crisis of the European integration project as seen from the vantage point of people’s movements across and to the European continent. But why should the issue of refugees or of migration have anything to do with the dynamics of the integration or disintegration of the European Union? If anything, the existing global refugee protection regime was conceived in Europe at about the time when Europe began to integrate: It was seen as a moral imperative in the context of...

While the decline of communism in the late twentieth century brought democracy, political freedom, and better economic prospects for many people, it also produced massive social dislocation and engendered social problems that were far less pronounced under the old regimes. The fall of state socialism led to enormously complex political, economic, social, and cultural transformations, and while political liberalization was a lofty goal, it was neither uniform in its effects nor unqualified ...

Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine is the first collection to examine how political, social, and economic transitions in post-Communist Ukraine are transforming gender roles and relations within the country. Leading Western and Ukrainian scholars and practitioners address a wide range of effects associated with and reinforced by these transitions – including the breakdown of the general welfare system, the lack of progress in the development of the healthcare system, gender ...

The fast-developing relationship between China and Europe has become one of the most important in international affairs. China-Europe Relations takes an innovative and insightful look at this phenomenon, examining:the state of Chinese studies in Europe and European studies in Chinathe decision-making behind the EU’s China policy, and what the Chinese perceptions and assessments are of Europe that shape China’s Europe policy

Throughout this lively and concise historical account of Mao Zedong’s life and thought, Rebecca E. Karl places the revolutionary leader’s personal experiences, social visions and theory, military strategies, and developmental and foreign policies in a dynamic narrative of the Chinese revolution. She situates Mao and the revolution in a global setting informed by imperialism, decolonization, and third worldism, and discusses worldwide trends in politics, the economy, military power, and ter...