Ethnic struggle, coexistence, and democratization in Eastern Europe
By: Sherrill Stroschein
Series: Cambridge studies in contentious politics
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9781107005242
Subjects: POLITICAL SCIENCE / General; Ethnic groups; Democratization; Political activity; Ethnic relations; Minorities
Description: "This book argues that protest by ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Slovakia brought about policy changes and integrated Hungarian minorities into the democratic process. Ethnic protest allowed groups to learn about the nature and limits of each other's claims, facilitating new democratic institutions"--

"In societies divided on ethnic and religious lines, problems of democracy are magnified ,Ŭ particularly where groups are mobilized into parties. With the principle of majority rule, minorities should be less willing to endorse democratic institutions where their parties persistently lose elections. While such problems should also hamper transitions to democracy, several diverse Eastern European states have formed democracies even under these conditions. In this book, Sherrill Stroschein argues that sustained protest and contention by ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Slovakia brought concessions on policies that they could not achieve through the ballot box, in contrast to Transcarpathia, Ukraine. In Romania and Slovakia, contention during the 1990s made each group accustomed to each other,Ŵs claims, and aware of the degree to which each could push its own. Ethnic contention became a de facto deliberative process that fostered a moderation of group stances, allowing democratic consolidation to slowly and organically take root"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. Ethnic protest, moderation, and democratization; 2. Time, process, and events in democratization; 3. Ethnic contention in context; 4. Local violence and uncertainty in T&#226;rgu Mure&#351;, 1990; 5. The power of symbols: Romanians, Hungarians, and King Mathias in Cluj; 6. Forging language laws: schools and sign wars; 7. Debating local governance: autonomy, local control, and minority enclaves; 8. Implications of group interaction.