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Begin New Search Publishing Institution European Centre for Minority Issues Publication Year within 25 Years

31. Ethnic or multi-ethnic parties? Party competition and legislative recruitment in Moldova

Author:
Oleh Protsyk and Ion Osoian
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
Securing adequate representation of minorities in institutions of the state is commonly described in the literature as an important mechanism for addressing issues of ethnic tensions in culturally diverse societies. A proportional electoral system is generally perceived as more friendly for representation of minority interests than a majoritarian single member district system. The introduction of the former system in a number of post-communist countries encouraged institutionalization of ethnic minority parties. These parties became a permanent part of the political landscape in South Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria and Romania.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Ethnic Government, Governance, and Minorities
Political Geography:
Europe, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Romania

32. The value of power, the power of values: a call for an EU Grand Strategy

Author:
Sven Biscop (ed.)
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
In its 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS), the EU has a grand strategy, embracing all instruments and resources at the disposal of the Union and the Member States, but a partial one. The ESS tells us how to do things – in a preventive, holistic and multilateral way – but it is much vaguer on what to do: what are the concrete objectives and priorities of the EU as a global actor?
Topic:
Economics, Emerging Markets, International Political Economy, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

33. 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
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

34. Georgia and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

Author:
Jonathan Wheatley
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
Georgia is a multilingual and multi-ethnic society. A large number of minority languages are spoken in Georgia, including Abkhazian, Ossetian, Azeri, Armenian, Russian, Ukrainian, Kurmanji (Kurdish), Chechen (Kist), Ottoman Turkish, Pontic Greek, Syriac, Avar, Tsova-Tush and Udi. In addition, four distinct languages are spoken by the majority Georgian population -- Georgian, Megrelian, Svan and Laz -- although these are basically vernacular languages that are not normally written. According to Article 8 of the Georgian constitution, the official state language is Georgian, and in Abkhazia, also Abkhazian. Most minority languages are spoken only in certain regions of the country.
Topic:
Politics, Multiculturalism, and Minorities
Political Geography:
Russia, America, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, and Syria

35. The Integration of National Minorities in the Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli Provinces of Georgia: Five Years into the Presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili

Author:
Jonathan Wheatley
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
This paper aims to explore the extent to which national minorities in the Georgian provinces of Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti are integrated into the economic and political life of Georgia and to investigate how government policy in the aftermath of the Rose Revolution of November 2003 has affected the relationship between the state and minority communities in these two regions. It is divided into eight parts. First I provide a general overview of the main characteristics of the population of the two provinces in terms of ethnicity and language use. The second part turns to the economy of the two regions, focusing on both agricultural and industrial production. The next section turns to state-society relations by showing how government policy in the fields of education, local government, infrastructure and economic development has impacted upon the integration of national minorities in the two provinces. The fourth section explores in greater depth the modes of local governance in the two municipalities of Samtskhe-Javakheti (Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda, collectively known as Javakheti) and the five municipalities of Kvemo Kartli (Gardabani, Marneuli, Bolnisi, Dmanisi and Tsalka) in which members of national minorities are concentrated, by identifying the main power brokers in these municipalities and by looking at how local power structures have changed in the last five years. The following part focuses on the process of migration and includes both permanent migration of Georgians and members of national minorities within Georgia and to destinations beyond the country's borders, as well as seasonal migration abroad. The sixth part deals with the issue of land distribution, which has been a contentious one in both provinces. The seventh section is the final substantive part of the paper; it takes the "view from below" by looking at the most salient issues from the point of view of members of national minorities that live in the two provinces. The paper then closes with a short conclusion.
Topic:
Politics, Governance, and Minorities
Political Geography:
Georgia

36. Ossetians in Georgia in the Wake of the 2008 War

Author:
Giorgi Sordia
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
As a result of the August war of 2008, the demographic situation in South Ossetia has been entirely altered. After the Georgian authorities lost administrative-territorial control over the Didi and Patara Liakhvi gorges and Akhalgori district, the majority of the population of these territories, including the entire population of Didi and Patara Liakhvi, were forced to leave their homes. The demographic structure of districts adjoining the conflict zones was also affected. As of September 2008, internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the conflict zone (including districts of Shida Kartli) numbered more than 127,000 in total. After the ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia was signed and Russian troops removed from the region, a large number of those forcibly displaced outside the administrative borders of the former autonomous region of South Ossetia returned home. However, the entire ethnic Georgian population of Didi and Patara Liakhvi, as well as several thousand Georgians from Akhalgori districts, remain displaced. The Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation of Georgia has granted them the status of IDPs and housed them in 38 specially constructed cottage settlements. According to official figures from the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodation, the number of IDPs from the August war (excluding those displaced from Upper Abkhazia) currently stands at 24,729.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict and Minorities
Political Geography:
Georgia and South Ossetia

37. No Way Out: An Assessment of the Romani Community in Georgia

Author:
David Szakonyi
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
The Romani community is the most marginalized and disadvantaged ethnic community in Georgia. Although accurate estimates are hard to establish, the population is thought to number up to 1,500 persons, living in multiple small settlements across Georgia. Extreme poverty, unemployment, lack of education and health care, and isolation from larger society comprise several of the major problems the community as a whole is facing. The overall situation for the Roms in Georgia has significantly deteriorated since the Soviet period, leaving the population practically devoid of any means to lift themselves out of their often devastating circumstances.
Topic:
Education, Ethnic Conflict, Health, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe, Asia, Soviet Union, and Georgia

38. Representation and Democracy in Eurasia's Unrecognized States: The Case of Transnistria

Author:
Oleh Protsyk
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
Like the majority of modern states, non-recognized or de facto states are governed indirectly through elected representatives who are entrusted with the task of carrying out most of the functions of government. Issues of representation are central to an understanding of modern polities and have therefore generated substantial academic interest with regard to the identity and performance of representatives. Non-recognized states have largely been spared such detailed scrutiny of their domestic politics and patterns of representation, even though requests by these states for recognition draw increasingly on claims to democratically-secured genuine representation.
Topic:
Democratization and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Eurasia, and Asia

39. Representational Consequences of Special Mechanisms for Ethnic Minority Inclusion: Evidence from Romania

Author:
Oleh Protsyk, Marius Matichescu, and Baptiste Chatre
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
Ensuring representation of ethnic minorities in national level decision making is one of the important challenges that ethnically diverse societies face. A number of alternative institutional arrangements aimed at securing minority representation has been discussed in the academic literature. This discussion is energized by the practical need to provide policy advice on how to craft institutions in ethnically plural states that go through the periods of democratization and/or post conflict reconciliation. While the relevance of this discussion is ensured by political developments in different parts of the world, the evidential base for judging the effectiveness of different institutional arrangements has remained somewhat limited. This is due partly to the newness of some institutional arrangements and partly to the lack of systematic inquiry into different type of consequences of choosing a specific mechanism of communal representation. For example, a recent review of reserved seat provisions, which constitute one type of targeted electoral mechanisms, suggests that reserved seats are much more common and much more understudied than it has usually been assumed.
Political Geography:
Romania

40. Javakheti after the Rose Revolution: Progress and Regress in the Pursuit of National Unity in Georgia

Author:
Hedvig Lohm
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
Javakheti is situated in the South-East of Georgia, and is densely inhabited by Georgia's second largest national minority, Armenians. In most respects, Javakheti has been more dependent on Russia (in socio-economic terms) and Armenia (in cultural terms) than on its proper state, Georgia, since Georgia gained independence in 1991. Throughout the 1990s the region was often described as a 'potential hot-spot', yet another possible breakaway region in the Caucasus. This working paper will look into whether the situation has started to change in terms of whether Javakheti is now closer to becoming an integrated part of Georgia, given that territorial unity has been one of the main priorities of the Georgian government since the 'Rose Revolution' of 2003. The aim of this paper is thus to create a better understanding of the challenges that Javakheti faces, in order to facilitate an informed debate on the current situation and the future development of the region.
Topic:
Government, Nationalism, and Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Caucasus, Armenia, and Georgia