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32. Nomen Est Omen? Naming and Renaming of Places in Minority Inhabited Areas in Georgia
- Author:
- Maria Diego Gordon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Georgia is home for almost 490,000 members of different ethnic minority groups, people that are mostly inhabiting the Kvemo Kartli and Samkhtse-Javakheti regions. Since the beginning of the 1990’s claims have been made by local activists and some NGOs regarding the renaming of their villages in these areas. It has long been discussed the pivotal role played by place-names in the formation of the collective memory of a country. Hence, even though these names are perceived as an unquestionable part of everyday landscape, they are a really valuable reflection of the different political tendencies that the governments and regimes are following, for example, regarding ethnic and national minorities. Firstly, the aim of this working paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of the changes that the topographical landscape in the minority inhabited areas in Georgia have experienced since 1921. Secondly, to explain and contextualize the reasons behind the very different regimes and governments to execute these changes.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Civil Rights, Identity, and Territory
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Georgia
33. Drafting Domestic Legislation Provisioning National Minority Rights : The Dos and Don’ts According to the Council of Europe
- Author:
- Ljubica Djordjevic and Tove H. Malloy
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- This paper deals with the issues considered to be of most relevance when drafting domestic legislation on national minority rights. This covers both technical/procedural issues and substantive issues. Among the technical/procedural issues it is important to: make clear the structure of the legal framework (should one comprehensive law on national minority rights be adopted or not) and the hierarchical relations within the legal framework, to ensure inclusive enacting procedure, and to bear in mind the processes/dynamics after the adoption of the law. Substantive issues refer to some of the central, conceptual questions (such as definitions, the self-identification principle, the character of national minority rights and similar), but also to the very core of regulations set out in the law. In the case of the latter, the paper focuses on the principle of equality, language rights of national minorities, and minority participation in public affairs.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Civil Rights, Domestic Policy, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe
34. The Roma in Moldova
- Author:
- Andreea Carstocea and Raul Carstocea
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- All international and domestic reports indicate that the Roma in Moldova are faced with very serious challenges with respect to their equal access to rights and basic services, particularly in the spheres of education, employment and housing. Stigma and stereotypes are widespread in society, driving discriminatory attitudes and practices towards them. The existing legislation, although fairly comprehensive, suffers from lack of adequate implementation and as such fails to address the many issues facing the Roma community. There is extremely limited academic research concerning the Roma community in Moldova. As such, the data summarized in this report has mainly been obtained from governmental and non-governmental sources, with a large contribution from data provided by international organizations.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Legislation, Community, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Moldova
35. Not Even in the Margins : Where are Roma with Disabilities?
- Author:
- Michael Szporluk
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- A major campaign to raise awareness of conditions for Roma living in Central and South-East Europe, the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015, ended last fall. Governments made commitments, reported on progress, and civil society organizations monitored their work. The concluding report, A Lost Decade?, signals that results were mixed at best; yet for 15% of the population (i.e., persons with disabilities), there were no commitments, no reports, and no monitoring. For Roma with disabilities the decade didn’t start and lose momentum, it simply never happened. This study looks at the progress made through the Decade of Roma Inclusion (hereinafter Roma Decade) and European Union’s Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies (hereinafter EU Framework), provides information about Roma with disabilities, describes efforts to raise awareness of Roma with disabilities and protect their rights, and finally outlines the rights of ethnic minorities through an intersectional lens.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Disability, Local, and Protected People
- Political Geography:
- Europe
36. Dynamics of Integration in the OSCE Area: National Minorities and Bridge Building
- Author:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Publication Date:
- 12-2016
- Content Type:
- Case Study
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- This Report has been compiled in support of the 2016 German OSCE Chairmanship’s focus on “the situation of national minorities in times of crisis, their positive contribution to social integration and their potential to build bridges in international relations.” The Report presents 24 positive initiatives at bridge building taken throughout the OSCE area, including seven examples of legal instruments in cross-border regions and 17 examples of projects covering a number of themes identified in the political, cultural and socio-economic sectors.
- Topic:
- Nationalism, Minorities, Ethnicity, Borders, and Integration
- Political Geography:
- Europe
37. Anti-Discrimination Exceptionalism: Racist Violence before the ECtHR and the Holocaust Prism
- Author:
- Ruth Rubio-Marín and Mathias Möschel
- Publication Date:
- 10-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Over the past years, the European Court of Human Rights has significantly developed and strengthened its Article 14 non-discrimination jurisprudence, including in a number of ground-breaking international law cases establishing increased state responsibility with regard to ethnic segregation in education and gender violence. However, in the type of cases that constitute a large part of its non-discrimination case load, namely physical violence against racial minorities, the Court has so far failed to adequately address Article 14 discrimination claims raised by the victims. We posit that this could be caused in part by what we call the ‘Holocaust Prism’. Put briefly, the experience of the Holocaust has shaped the manner in which continental European courts understand racism and race discrimination, at least (or especially) when it is combined with violence. Paradoxically, this entails that in the most heinous cases of race discrimination, the discrimination threshold is raised to the level of criminal conduct. Moreover, to the extent that it is, only the ethnic dimension of such discrimination is foregrounded even in cases that present obvious intersectional (for example, ethnicity plus gender) dimensions. We exemplify this phenomenon by discussing recent case law on forced sterilization of Roma women and argue that the Court should become aware of this issue, recognize intersectional discrimination and align its case law on racist violence with the discrimination doctrine emerging in its gender violence and educational race segregation cases, both for the sake of internal consistency and to better capture the structural nature of racial discrimination in Europe.
- Topic:
- International Law, Ethnicity, Gender Based Violence, Holocaust, Roma, and Discrimination
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Czech Republic
38. Concessions or Coercion? How Governments Respond to Restive Ethnic Minorities
- Author:
- Arman Grigoryan
- Publication Date:
- 03-2015
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Security
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- Destabilized multiethnic states and empires are environments that are highly susceptible to violent ethnonationalist conflict. Conflicts between states built on the ruins of such empires and their minorities are especially common. James Fearon has famously argued that these conflicts are the result of minorities' rational incentives to rebel, which in turn are the result of newly independent states' inability to guarantee that these minorities will not be discriminated against if they acquiesce to citizenship, as well as expectations that over time the balance of power will shift against minorities as states consolidate their institutions. States can, however, take steps to reassure their minorities. The puzzle is why they often fail to do so. In fact, states often adopt policies that confirm minorities' worst fears, pushing them toward rebellion. Such action may be precipitated by a state's belief that a minority is motivated by a separatist agenda rather than by the desire to have its concerns and grievances satisfactorily addressed. If secession is a minority's primary objective, then concessions intended to demobilize the minority will only make the state more vulnerable to future demands and separatist bids. The existence of third parties with incentives to support minority separatism exacerbates the problem. The violent and nonviolent minority disputes in post-Soviet Georgia illustrate these findings.
- Topic:
- Ethnic Government, Governance, Ethnicity, and Domestic Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Asia, Georgia, and Global Focus
39. 'Roma' Policy Making: Key Challenges and Possible Solutions
- Author:
- Zora Popova
- Publication Date:
- 01-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Acknowledging the need for an integrated and targeted approach towards the inclusion of the largest European minority, the EU has moved forward over the past decade in its efforts to develop and launch policies and programmes aiming at bringing about a positive change to the situation of Roma. Despite the significant funds allocated for the implementation of initiatives and strategies, no significant impact has been accounted throughout Europe over the years. The current policy brief looks at some factors that appear to be key impediments to the development of a sustainable and successful policy and suggests steps for overcoming the identified problems.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Conflict, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe
40. Instigations of Separatism in the Baltic States
- Author:
- Mindaugas Kuklys and Raul Carstocea
- Publication Date:
- 06-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- This Issue Brief deals with some recent attempts to instigate and foment separatism in certain regions of all three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Although these attempts would appear at first glance to be spontaneous, we argue that certain recurring elements and links between them seem to indicate that they are rather coordinated actions showing a certain level of organization. In turn, these recent cases have direct bearing on the relationship between minorities and majorities in the Baltic states after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the increasingly strong promotion of the Eurasian Union initiated by Russia. Despite the differences between Estonia and Latvia on the one hand – which have large Russian-speaking minorities continuing to face integration challenges – and Lithuania – with a relatively small and well-integrated Russian minority –, these recent calls for separatism are manifest in all three countries under consideration.
- Topic:
- Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Separatism, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Baltic States