Minority Policy in Central Europe: Exploring the Impact of the EU's Enlargement Strategy

In: The global review of ethnopolitics, Band 3, Heft 2, S. 3-19

Abstract

Compares the development of national minority policy in the Czech Republic, Hungary, & Poland to explore the impact of the European Union's (EU's) enlargement strategy on minority protection in postcommunist countries. The minority situation in each country is described & official policy documents are analyzed to determine the extent to which "EU-ization" & other factors have driven changes in national minority policy. Although the international environment has been a factor in the development of minority policies, the documents examined suggest that EU enlargement was not always the most important factor spurring policy changes. The candidate countries used the international context as a way to deal with such short-term interests as regional strategic considerations. The diversity that characterizes the minority policies of EU members makes it possible for candidate states to give considerable attention to domestic issues. In addition, minimal standards of minority protection remain contested among both candidates & EU members who have pushed the conditionality agenda in directions amenable to their own interests. 2 Tables, 38 References. J. Lindroth