Nation Building And Minority Politics In Post Socialist States

Despite socialism's best efforts, ethnic identity remained a salient feature in Central and Eastern Europe. Not only did ethno-nationalism help to bring about the fall of the socialist regimes in this region, but it also characterized much of the post-socialist politics. Nation-Building and Minority Politics examines the issue of minority politics in post-socialist states within this dual structure. In particular, it offers an in-depth analysis of post-restoration politics in Estonia and Latvia, covering four issues. First, it looks at the historical context of the current group relations. Second, the study explores the domestic nature of minority politics in Estonia and Latvia by looking at domestic politics and policies. Third, it examines the role of the Russian Federation as an 'external national homeland' through illustrating developments within Russian foreign policy. Finally, the book analyses the role of three significant European organizations, namely the OSCE, EU and the Council of Europe as agents of 'conditionality'. Overall, this study combines old and new theoretical approaches to nation-building and minority politics to exhibit the changing nature of the relationship between majority, minority, external national homeland, and international organizations in today's Europe.

This book examines how national and ethnic identities are being reforged in the post-Soviet borderland states.

What drives a state's choice to assimilate, accommodate or exclude ethnic groups within its territory? In this innovative work on the international politics of nation-building, Harris Mylonas argues that a state's nation-building policies toward non-core groups - individuals perceived as an ethnic group by the ruling elite of a state - are influenced by both its foreign policy goals and its relations with the external patrons of these groups. Through a detailed study of the Balkans, Mylonas shows that how a state treats a non-core group within its own borders is determined largely by whether the state's foreign policy is revisionist or cleaves to the international status quo, and whether it is allied or in rivalry with that group's external patrons. Mylonas injects international politics into the study of nation-building, building a bridge between international relations and the comparative politics of ethnicity and nationalism.

Despite socialism's best efforts, ethnic identity remained a salient feature in Central and Eastern Europe. Not only did ethno-nationalism help to bring about the fall of the socialist regimes in this region, but it also characterized much of the post-socialist politics. Nation-Building and Minority Politics examines the issue of minority politics in post-socialist states within this dual structure. In particular, it offers an in-depth analysis of post-restoration politics in Estonia and Latvia, covering four issues. First, it looks at the historical context of the current group relations. Second, the study explores the domestic nature of minority politics in Estonia and Latvia by looking at domestic politics and policies. Third, it examines the role of the Russian Federation as an 'external national homeland' through illustrating developments within Russian foreign policy. Finally, the book analyses the role of three significant European organizations, namely the OSCE, EU and the Council of Europe as agents of 'conditionality'. Overall, this study combines old and new theoretical approaches to nation-building and minority politics to exhibit the changing nature of the relationship between majority, minority, external national homeland, and international organizations in today's Europe.

Post-socialist transformations in Central and Eastern Europe have been characterised by historically shaped crises and conflicts on all levels of political, economic and societal life. Minority and ethno-political conflicts, many of them currently at a stalemate, have severely hampered state-building and societal stability – and continue to do so. Contradictory interpretations of history prevent societies from forging a common identity and thus impede nation-building processes. Political and social identities exert an important influence on democratic and socioeconomic transformation processes. Taken together, the contributions in this volume reflect the wide variety of challenges and conflicts linked to ethnic, national, political, social and gender identities in post-socialist societies in Central and Eastern Europe. They not only serve to illustrate the significant differences among post-socialist transformations, but also highlight the variety of theoretical concepts and methodological approaches that can be used to analyse identity, its change and impact on societal developments.This book presents some of the best papers presented at the Changing Europe Summer School on “Crises and Conflicts in Eastern European States and Societies: Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones for Democratisation?“ held in Warsaw in September 2007.

Nation-building as a process is never complete and issues related to identity, nation, state and regime-building are recurrent in the post-Soviet region. This comparative, inter-disciplinary volume explores how nation-building tools emerged and evolved over the last twenty years. Featuring in-depth case studies from countries throughout the post-Soviet space it compares various aspects of nation-building and identity formation projects. Approaching the issue from a variety of disciplines, and geographical areas, contributors illustrate chapter by chapter how different state and non-state actors utilise traditional instruments of nation-construction in new ways while also developing non-traditional tools and strategies to provide a contemporary account of how nation-formation efforts evolve and diverge.