Territorial Autonomy as a Minority Rights Regime in Post-Communist Societies

Abstract

A comment on Will Kymlicka's "Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe" (2001) discusses the validity of objections to territorial autonomy as a mechanism for reducing ethnic conflict: (1) Territorial autonomy is seen to lead to secession. (2) The putative minority homeland is no more culturally homogeneous than the whole state. After reviewing the history of territorial autonomy in the USSR, attention turns to actual experience of territorial autonomy among four groups. Analysis indicates that problems arise when territorial autonomy is taken away from groups that can cite a historical precedence for it during the Soviet period. In Gagauzia & Crimea, granting of territorial autonomy has been a positive experience; although in Dniestra, the outcome remains in question. While not a perfect solution, territorial autonomy is favored as a form of minority rights protection regime. J. Zendejas