GEOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS OF ONGOING AND POTENTIAL ETHNIC CONFLICTS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
Journal Title: European Spatial Research and Policy - Year 2019, Vol 26, Issue 1
Abstract
For centuries Central and Eastern Europe has been the scene of frequent changes of borders and numerous ethnic conflicts. Contemporary ethnic diversity of this region is much smaller, however, the growing nationalisms of the various societies, mutual mistrust, and the temptation of politicians to use ethnic issues in the regional geopolitical competition pose a real threat to the stability and peace in Central and Eastern Europe. The dynamic political, legal, social and economic changes which have been taking place in this part of Europe for three decades now, which overlay its clear civilization division into the Latin and the Byzantine parts and are intensified by historical animosities, must have had an impact on the situation and the perception of minorities. In contrast to Western Europe, the contemporary ethnic diversity of Central and Eastern Europe is primary the consequence of various, often centuries-old historical processes (settlement actions, voluntary and forced migrations, border changes, the political and economic expansion of particular countries), and in the ethnic structure especially dominate the indigenous groups, migrants, particularly from the outside of the European cultural circle, are of marginal importance. Moreover, national minorities are usually concentrated in the border regions of countries, often in close proximity to their home countries, becoming – often against their will – element of the internal and foreign policies of neighbouring countries. The main aims of the article are to explain the threats to peace arising from the attempts to use minorities in inter-state relations and regional geopolitics as well as engaging minority groups into ethnic and political conflicts (autonomy of regions, secession attempts) and still the very large role of history (especially negative, tragic events) in the shaping of contemporary interethnic relations in Central and Eastern Europe. However, the varied ethnic structure typical for this region does not have to be a conflict factor, on the contrary – it can become a permanent element of the identity and cultural heritage of each country.
Authors and Affiliations
Marek BARWIŃSKI
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP597185
- DOI 10.18778/1231-1952.26.1.08
- Views 65
- Downloads 0
EXPLAINING THE PREVALENCE OF THE INFORMAL ECONOMY IN THE BALTICS: AN INSTITUTIONAL ASYMMETRY PERSPECTIVE1
The aim of this paper is to map the spatial variations in the size of the shadow economy within Brussels. Reporting data provided by the National Bank of Belgium on the deposit of high denomination banknotes across bank...
EUROREGIONS AS SOFT SPACES: BETWEEN CONSOLIDATION AND TRANSFORMATION
National borders constitute barriers to social, economic and political processes and, thus, tend to contribute to the peripheralisation of border regions. The paper compares the evolution of two euroregions in peripheral...
THE ROLE OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT IN HUMAN LIFE. SELECTED ISSUES.
Creation of the built environment and research in this field pose a particularly difficult challenge nowadays. The pace of social and technological change does not allow for evolutionary development of cities and the for...
QUANTIFICATION OF THE SIZE OF LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: EMPIRICAL STUDY OF POLISH REGIONS
The issue of the size of public administration is commonly researched. Most of the times this topic is tackled from a macroeconomic perspective, considering local and central administration together. That is why this pap...
SPATIAL DYNAMIC MODELLING OF TAX GAP: THE CASE OF ITALY
This paper analyses the determinants of regional tax gap in Italy testing if tax evasion is characterised by spatial persistence. The size of spatial correlation in regional tax gaps has been tested and the role of addit...