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101. National Minorities in the 21st Century Europe: New Discourses, New Narratives?

Author:
Tove H. Malloy
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
For centuries national minorities in Europe have lived in the shadow of the historical events of the 19th and the 20t h centuries. Whether for humanitarian reasons or to protect the identity of national minorities, major European treaties settling inter-state wars have had to address minority issues to secure the peace. For this reason, national minorities have frequently been seen not only as obstacles to nation and state building but also as anomalies in international relations.1 At times labelled as troublemakers and war mongers, national minorities have seldom been afforded ethical standing in the writing of Europe’s history.2 While the settlement after the First World War might be called an ‘honourable’ settlement, the settlement after the Second World War basically erased some national minorities from the European map. The integration discourses of the 21st Century seem to bring changes to this scenario.
Topic:
Nationalism, Minorities, Ethnicity, and Regionalism
Political Geography:
Europe

102. The Integration of the Turks into German Society: Turks on Their Way to Parallel Societies or to True Integration?

Author:
Moritz Orendt
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
Abstract:
Created as a nation-state in the beginning, Germany is not very prepared to deal with an increasing amount of people with different ethnic background. The largest group of non- German people is the Turkish one. Influenced by the media, many people doubt the possibility of true Turkish integration into the German society coexistence for mutual advantage in Germany. The subject of this essay is the examination of Turkish integration in Germany. First, the history of Turkish migration to Germany will be scrutinized in order to understand how the people, who live there now, initially came to Germany. Second, Turkish life in Germany will be examined and what moved them to stay. Third, we will look at the concept of integration and how it could be measured as objective as possible. Forth, the integration of the Turks in Germany will be evaluated referring to the concept from the section before. Finally, some proposals will be introduced in order to improve the Turkish integration which is actually in a bad shape.
Topic:
Migration, Minorities, Integration, and Society
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Germany

103. Institutions of Georgia for Governance on National Minorities: An Overview

Author:
Giorgi Sordia
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Since the 'Rose Revolution' in November 2003, significant reform has taken place in Georgia. The new Georgian government led by Mikheil Saakashvili, eager to push forward the process of reform and enhance the pace of integration with Euro-Atlantic structures and institutions, has taken a range of important steps to develop the institutional arrangement of government. A number of key ministries have been radically reformed, including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education and Science. Structural reform is also ongoing in many other ministries and state bodies.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Governance, and Minorities
Political Geography:
Europe and Georgia

104. A Way Out? Initial Steps Towards Addressing Romani Issues in Georgia

Author:
Giorgi Sordia
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The Romani community are one of the least studied ethnic minorities in Georgia and issues such as their history, daily life, relations with other ethnic groups and the problems they face remain virtually unexplored. Unlike many European countries where over the past decade the protection of Romani rights and promotion of their integration into society has become systematic, in Georgia the facilitation of equal possibilities for Roms and protection of their rights exists only at a rudimentary level. One of the main reasons for this is undoubtedly the limited information on Roms and their conditions, both among the authorities and in society as a whole. The first systematic research on Roms in Georgia was conducted in 2007 and later published by the European Centre for Minority Issues. This initial publication provided a brief introduction to the history of the settlement of Roms in Georgia, their dwelling places, demographical data, social structure of the community and the economic, social and other problems facing the community. As a result of this research, the following main problems of the Romani community were revealed: extreme poverty, unemployment, poor access to education and health care, isolation from the larger population of the country and lack of official documentation. Following this initial research, the European Centre for Minority Issues has continued to study the Romani community, which has helped to provide a fuller demographic profile of the Roms, a more thorough understanding of their problems, and the collection of additional information about the community’s ethnic and cultural characteristics. At the same time, a survey—conducted with the help of questionnaires—has provided documentation on the Romani social problems, enabling us to obtain a more accurate picture of the situation of the Romani community settlements. It has also helped to identify precisely those Roms who suffer from lack of documents and what type of documents they need, and also provided us with a more comprehensive understanding of the scope of the problem of non-enrollment of Romani children in the education system. This research was conducted from mid 2008 to early 2009.2 Hence, in supplementing the data provided in ECMI Working Paper #39, this Issue Brief provides a set of additional findings relating to the demography and status of the Romani community in Georgia. With thepublication of this data, we hope to provide a further impetus to Georgian policy makers and civil society organizations in addressing some of the acute problems faced by the Roms in the country and offer insights that can be helpful to this end.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Integration, Identity, Inclusion, and Protected People
Political Geography:
Europe and Georgia

105. The Recent Flow of Asylum-Seekers from Georgia to Poland

Author:
Jenny Thomsen
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Over the past months Poland has witnessed an exceptionally large number of Georgian citizens applying for asylum. From April to November 2009, approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens have crossed the Polish border with the aim of applying for asylum. This number is astonishing in comparison with previous years when only approximately 400 applications were received in the entire period between 2000 and 2008.2 In parallel, there has recently been an increase of asylum-seekers from Georgia in other European Union countries, with about 2,000 applications in Germany and 2,000 in the Baltic States, Greece, Switzerland, Italy and Austria together. Some of these people initially arrived in Poland and have thereafter disappeared from the asylum camps while their asylum application was still in process. Given that Georgia’s total population is about four and a half million inhabitants this number is extraordinarily high. The number of Georgian asylum-seekers in Poland has now even exceeded the number of persons from Chechnya seeking asylum. Out of the approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens applying for asylum between April and November, about 60% were persons aged 18-34. Children up to 13 years old constituted roughly a fifth of the asylum-seekers and people aged 35-64 made up about the same number. Males represented nearly two thirds and particularly young males between 18-34 were overrepresented, constituting around 40%. The flow of Georgian citizens to Poland peaked in July and August with 1,038 respectively 1,371 Georgian asylum-seekers. In September, the number had decreased to 317, in October to 205 and in November further to 143. The large majority of the asylum-seekers from Georgia (about 90%) are reported to be Yezidi-Kurds, generally poorly educated and sometimes even illiterate. The remaining part is reportedly ethnic Georgians, Armenians and Azeris.
Topic:
Minorities, European Union, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and Georgia

106. Reciprocity or the Higher Ground? The Treatment of Ethnic Russians in Georgia After the "Spy Scandal" of 2006

Author:
David Szakonyi
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Upon comparison of the treatment of one another‟s ethnic community following the spy scandal,‟ clear differences emerge between Russia‟s and Georgia‟s approaches to the issue. In contrast to the full-fledged targeting and expulsion of both legal and illegal residents on the part of Russia, Georgian officials, media outlets, and citizens responded admirably to the tenuous situation, with few reported incidents of discrimination. However, anti-Russian sentiments, at least at the elite political level, are still very much present among Georgian society, and the consequences of the agitated, negative rhetoric towards Russia by several Georgian leaders could lead to an environment of increased animosity towards Russian speakers. Without specific steps taken by the Georgian government, media outlets, and society as a whole to reduce anti-Russian sentiment, there is a danger of further incensed political relations negatively affecting interpersonal relations between the ethnic Russian minority and the Georgian majority.
Topic:
Intelligence, Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Georgia

107. Language Loss and the Ethnic Identity of Minorities

Author:
Ulrike Schmidt
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
With the enlargement of the European Union, language, as a crucial element of ethnic identity, has recently again advanced to the focus of the European political and social stage. In the European tradition, language has become a major marker of belonging to a particular ethnic or national group. Recent conflicts in South Eastern Europe, but also along regional borders in Western Europe - as in Catalunya or Corsica - have often revolved around issues of language. These conflicts have demonstrated that the reality in most European countries differs from the traditional image of linguistically homogeneous states and is further questioned by the demand for recognition by regional speakers who have become ethnic or regional minorities in this nation-state system.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Language, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

108. Economic Exclusion of Ethnic Minorities: On the Importance of Concept Specification

Author:
Tim Dertwinkel
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
This issue brief is a plea for a more systematic investigation into the concept of economic exclusion of ethnic minorities.1 What does “economic exclusion” exactly mean? How does it relate to the broader and more established phenomenon of social exclusion? Is economicexclusion, especially when applied to historical ethnic minorities, worthwhile studying in its ownright, or is it just a fashionable reframing of “older” development concepts such as poverty or inequality? It is exactly these questions that this issue brief attempts to shed some light on. I argue that such an exercise is overdue mainly for the two following reasons: first, there is a recent abundance in the use of the term “economic exclusion”, prominently taken up and further promoted by the work of minority rights related institutions, NGOs and practitioners. Second, and in sharp contrast to fast emerging policy programs and legal frameworks, theoretical orconceptual clarifications of economic exclusion - as well as empirical results on factors promoting or mitigating exclusion - are rare. The main argument put forward here is that so far, working definitions of economic exclusion are broad and extensive, and tend to vary according to institution. No standard definition of economic exclusion exists so far. This lack of conceptualspecification makes it almost impossible for empirical work to catch up with recent normative developments
Topic:
Economics, Minorities, Ethnicity, and Exclusion
Political Geography:
Europe

109. Supporting Local Romani Coordinators: A Practical Guide to Integrating Roms in Municipal Government

Author:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The purpose of this brief publication is to encourage replication and continuation of the pioneering work of the 3 main initiators with the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) as implementing agent in building the capacity of local Romani coordinators (RCs) and their nonRomani counterparts in thirteen municipalities in the Republic of Serbia. To this end, the guide brings together materials for relevant actors in Serbia and potentially other countries in the broader Balkan region interested in increasing and improving integration and contacts between Romani communities and local authorities.
Topic:
Minorities, Ethnicity, Local, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

110. Resettlement of Ecologically Displaced Persons Solution of a Problem or Creation of a New?

Author:
Tom Trier and Medea Turashvili
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
A much overlooked issue of social, political and humanitarian concern in Georgia has been the resettlement of so-called ecological migrants, or eco-migrants, i.e., persons who have been displaced due to natural disasters in their native villages. Resettlement and internal migration is not a new phenomenon in Georgia. Already in the 19th century, Georgians were relocated to populate sparsely inhabited border regions. Later with the Soviet collectivization of the 1930s-1950s, thousands of mountainous people were resettled, forcibly or voluntarily, to lowland parts of the country. In addition, regions that had been emptied of their indigenous populations during Stalin’s mass deportations of the 1940s were then repopulated with Georgians from other regions. In the 1950s and 1960s in particular, much of the population of the mountain regions of Ajara was resettled into other regions, in order to regulate the demographic balance and avoid over-population in the mountains. Since the early 1980s, the process of migration from mountainous regions has been further exacerbated by climate changes, which have had quite a significant impact on the livelihoods of the mountainous populations. Hence, over the past quarter of a century, tens of thousands of people have become homeless as a result of flooding, landslides, and/or avalanches. Various governments have responded to natural disasters in these mountainous regions of Georgia, beginning with the Soviet authorities of the 1980s, to the nationalist regime of Gamsakhurdia, over the leadership of Shevardnadze, and finally to the current Saakashvili government. Each has pursued a different approach. While in the early and mid 1980s, the process of resettlement was quite wellorganised, the late 1980s saw a serious increase in the number of natural disasters in Georgia’s mountain regions, coinciding with the breakdown of Soviet structures and the ensuing corruption. With the coming to power of a nationalist government under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, resettlement policies were largely guided by a nationalist agenda designed to repopulate the minorityinhabited and border regions of Georgia with ethnic Georgians. Ecologically displaced persons soon found themselves as tools to advance such policies. During Shevardnadze however, this issue was literally ignored. After the “Rose Revolution” in 2003, the Saakashvili government took steps to address the problems of eco-migrants, although by all appearances consistent policy for addressing such issues is still out of sight.
Topic:
Migration, Minorities, Ethnicity, Displacement, Resettlement, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe and Georgia