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31. National Minorities and Regional Development: A Comparative Overview of the Three Baltic States

Author:
Craig Willis
Publication Date:
05-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
This Working Paper is a mapping exercise of the minority communities in the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, with regard to the regional development within the countries. Using census data combined with a series of regional development indicators from Eurostat and OECD Regional Well-Being, an overview of each of the countries’ regions at the NUTS Level 3 is provided, as well as a comparison across all three. This research finds, through a series of bivariate regression analyses, that within and across all three countries, there is no statistical linear relationship between the percentage of minority population in a region and multiple indicators of regional development – including GDP. Rather, the main dividing line is between capital city regions and the rest of the country/s. Yet, in peripheral regions, the regional development indicators show that regions with a large minority population are not necessarily any worse off than other peripheral regions which have a low minority population – particularly the case in Lithuania. This offers some evidence that a large minority population is not a hindrance to a region’s development. Nonetheless, the research provides an overview of the challenges in which many regions home to a large percentage of minorities possess, particularly in the areas with a high ethnically Russian population percentage. Thus, this Working Paper concludes by identifying patterns and outliers of regions in order for intensified and comparative further case study research at the micro level.
Topic:
Development, Nationalism, Minorities, Ethnicity, and Regionalism
Political Geography:
Europe and Baltic States

32. Words that Hurt (1): Normative and Institutional Considerations in the Regulation of Hate Speech in Europe

Author:
Kyriaki Topidi
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Europe is experiencing at present intense dilemmas in regulating hate speech and online harassment. Free speech exercise can be offensive and even contribute to a climate of prejudice and discrimination against minorities. Often, the media exacerbate the tendency by reporting negatively about minorities. The first working paper on this topic engages with the normative dimensions of the balance between the need to control and limit incitement to violence in reconciliation with the fundamental right to freedom of expression. Three distinct aspects of hate speech are covered: the first relates to the role of freedom of expression as a tool of inclusiveness. With the limits of liberal tolerance being unclear, just like the definition of hate speech itself, legal actors and systems are torn between criminalising the speaker’s motive alone or in conjunction with the effects of the speech. A survey of recent related European Court of Human Rights case-law demonstrates these ambiguities. The second aspect covered looks at the challenges of the regulation of the freedom of expression in the digital age, with emphasis of the online dimensions of the phenomenon from a legal perspective. The final aspect of the paper proposes an actor-based analysis of hate speech, as it emerges from the current regulatory frameworks applied. This section deals not only with the role of the State but also with that of equality bodies, political parties and private businesses in providing more efficient networks of protection of minorities from such violent expressions of hatred.
Topic:
Minorities, Discrimination, Hate Speech, Institutionalism, and Normalization
Political Geography:
Europe

33. Words that Hurt (2): National and International Perspectives on Hate Speech Regulation

Author:
Kyriaki Topidi
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Faced with a piecemeal approach to hate speech in Europe, leading to the reduced visibility of the phenomenon with often serious consequences, a variety of regional and international organisations have contributed legal documents and interpretative recommendations that attempt to guide states in their practice of combating hate speech. The present paper, following up on a previous one, will engage first with the international legal and regulatory framework of hate speech, placing emphasis on the European elements of the system in place. At a second stage, the paper will briefly survey twenty European national systems exposing the variety of regulatory patterns on the issue. Finally, the study will conclude with a list of common observations pertaining to the regulation of hate speech in the European continent, as they have emerged from the comparative analysis of the case-studies.
Topic:
Governance, Minorities, Regulation, Discrimination, Hate Speech, and Institutionalism
Political Geography:
Europe

34. The Citizenship Policies of the Baltic States within the EU Framework on Minority Rights

Author:
Cristina Carpinelli
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The ethnic landscape in the Baltic States is dominated by one large ethnic minority: Russians. Lithuania is an exception as here the first biggest ethnic minority are Poles, followed by Russians. The Baltic States have also significant Slavic minorities, such as Belarusians and Ukrainians. There are many barriers for people from different ethnic groups to overcome because the Baltic societies are segregated according to ethnicity across a number of dimensions: language, work and geography. During the Soviet period there were separate language schools, a system that reinforced ethnic separation. Labor market was also split along ethnic lines and a large proportion of ethnic minorities lived spatially segregated from the majority group and was concentrated mostly in urban centers. The impact of communist heritage and the construction of the post-communist state order had a negative impact on the integration process of the Russian minorities in those countries. The ethnic Russians had been heavily marginalized as many of them had no citizenship at all. As a result, they had limited access to labor-market and less social protection. However, the accession of the Baltic States to the European Union (EU) has succeeded in significantly changing policies with respect for and protection of minorities in the three Baltic countries. In the last years the ethnic Russians have in fact been partially accommodated through the consistency of the citizenship laws with the European Union norms, which precisely require the protection of minorities and respect for them. The aim of the study described herein is to investigate the historic roots of ethnic segregation between the native Baltic population and the Russian minority and show how the entry of the Baltic States into the EU has facilitated the process of promoting minority rights, especially from the perspective of granting citizenship right to Russian (and Polish) ethnic persons living in those countries.
Topic:
Migration, Minorities, European Union, Citizenship, and Discrimination
Political Geography:
Europe and Baltic States

35. The Sultan’s Pleasure: Turkey Expands Operations in Syria and Iraq

Author:
Jonathan Spyer
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
All indications suggest that for Turkey, the recent battles were only a phase in a larger process. So where might Turkey turn next? And what is the goal of the Turkish campaign?
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, Minorities, and Discrimination
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, and Kurdistan

36. Prospects for Settling the Dispute over the Rights of the Hungarian Minority in Ukraine

Author:
Daniel Szeligowski and Veronika Jóźwiak
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The dispute over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia is based on a fundamental difference of interests. While Ukraine aims to strengthen its citizens’ sense of belonging to the country, Hungary strives to extend the rights of the minority, which means there are no prospects for easing the tensions in the short term. What is more, further escalation is likely, since both parties use the dispute in domestic politics. The difference in Hungary’s and Poland’s approach to Ukraine will weigh on Polish-Hungarian relations.
Topic:
Education, Bilateral Relations, Territorial Disputes, Minorities, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, and Hungary

37. Moldova: Four Priorities for Mainstreaming Minority Rights

Author:
Anita McKinna
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The economic and political challenges currently facing Moldova are formidable. The focus of the EU’s reform priorities for Moldova lie in the realms of combating systemic corruption, minimising the politicisation of state institutions, and improving judicial independence and financial governance. The general absence of volatile inter-ethnic tensions in Moldova has meant that minority rights here has received less international attention than other post-communist states. Advocating for the protection of the rights of minorities is reserved primarily for specific human rights defenders, and finds little space in the wider discourse regarding Moldova’s future. Yet Moldova’s geographic, historical and geopolitical location between Russia and the EU mean that it must play a delicate balancing act in which ethno-cultural harmony lies at the heart. This Issue Brief outlines the four pressing issues that currently restrict Moldova’s ethnic minorities’ participation in public life, and discusses opportunities for overcoming these restrictions to ensure stable inter-ethnic relations in Moldova.
Topic:
Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Civil Rights, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe and Moldova

38. Building Bridges Within and Across Diverse Societies: The Role of States

Author:
Zora Popova
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Can national minorities be successful in bringing societies together by linking communities within and across state borders if states are not supportive to their initiatives? To open a discussion on the topic, the current issue brief focuses on the actor behind the scenes – the state – and its role in the establishment of a sociopolitical environment that if not supportive, as a minimum would not impede their efforts. By identifying and analysing several types of roles that a state can play, the paper introduces analytical models aiming to provoke a critical reflection and to emphasise that understanding complex phenomena needs a comprehensive approach and a focus both on content and structure but also in the dynamics of their interplay.
Topic:
Civil Society, Nationalism, Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

39. Majorities and Minorities in Post-Soviet Space

Author:
Federica Prina and Aziz Berdiqulov
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The concepts of ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ are challenging terms to define in a clear and precise manner, especially in the unique environments of post-Soviet space. Linking the definitional complexities of ‘majority’ to the post-Soviet and postcolonial condition, this paper examines the majority-minority dynamics through the lenses of the fluidity of groups, the interaction of communities and the power differentials between communities. In doing so, the paper analyses cases from two post-Soviet countries. First, the case of Russia illustrates contentious identification of majority and minority communities, where an alternative vocabulary for definition of ‘minority’ and ‘majority’ emerged along with alternative understanding of related concepts. Second, the case of Tajikistan looks at the interplay of majority-minority concepts and discusses how the Russian community as a former ‘political majority’ adjusts to its new status of non-dominant group, while the Tajik community becomes the single subject of the nation-building policies.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Minorities, Ethnicity, Identity, and Post-Soviet Space
Political Geography:
Europe and Post-Soviet Europe

40. Local Bodies for Interethnic Relations in the Western Balkan States

Author:
Ljubica Djordjevic
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
The paper examines local mechanisms for interethnic dialogue which have been established in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia, with the main question concerning why they have remained ineffective for such a long period of time. The focus lies on local councils (Serbia), commissions (Macedonia), and committees (Kosovo) established in the respective laws on local self -governance, as specific institutional mechanisms for both participation of national minorities in municipal affairs and dialogue among communities residing in a municipality. In all three countries these bodies have been institutionally set as consultative bodies attached to a municipal assembly which deals with the issues relevant for national equality (Serbia), relations between communities (Macedonia) or respect for rights and interests of the communities (Kosovo). The main purpose of their activity is to address recommendations and opinions , primarily to the municipal assembly. They should serve as a channel for smaller communities to express their needs and interests, and as a forum for interethnic dialogue in a municipality. Yet, although legally established almost 15 years ago in Serbia and Macedonia (2002) and 10 years ago in Kosovo (2008), these bodies still remain more of a form than a content. Legal vagueness, lack of municipal support, inactivity, poor transparency and democratic legitimacy are just some of the weak points which cause their po or performance.
Topic:
Governance, Minorities, Ethnicity, Local, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans