Suchergebnisse

EUROPE'S POLITICAL EMANCIPATION FROM THE PARALYSIS OF THE COLD WAR CAN BE TRACED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE), FORMERLY THE CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (CSCE). THE OSCE HAS EMERGED AS AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE, WITH ROOTS IN THE BLOC-TO-BLOC DIVIDED EUROPE OF THE COLD WAR. THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENTS OF EASTERN EUROPE HAVE RECEIVED POLITICAL INSPIRATION AND LEGITIMACY FROM THE OSCE. NOW THE OSCE IS TRYING TO STRENGTHEN ITS TIES WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO'S) BECAUSE THE OSCE RECOGNIZES THE CENTRAL ROLE NGO'S PLAY IN A VITAL DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY.

"Cold War history has emphasized the division of Europe into two warring camps with separate ideologies and little in common. This volume presents an alternative perspective by suggesting that there were transnational networks bridging the gap and connecting like-minded people on both sides of the divide. Long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, there were institutions, organizations, and individuals who brought people from the East and the West together, joined by shared professions, ideas, and sometimes even through marriage. The volume aims at proving that the post-WWII histories of Western and Eastern Europe were entangled by looking at cases involving France, Denmark, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, and others"--Provided by publisher

An examination of the varied ways questions related to ethnicity, migration, & statehood are posed in different parts of Europe strives to avoid the oversimplified east-west contrasts that are prevalent in many accounts of contemporary Europe. "Immigrant ethnicity" & "territorial nationality" are described as two ways ethnic heterogeneity can be socially organized & politically expressed. It is maintained that Western Europe endorses the immigrant-ethnicity model in which ethnic groups arise through migration while Eastern Europe sanctions the territorial-nationality model that focuses on indigenous ethnic groups. Attention is called to acute differences between the two groups in political claims made in the name of ethnicity. The immigrant-ethnic model summons politics of anti-discrimination, civil inclusion, & "soft multiculturalism," while territorial nationality stresses claims to public recognition, support for cultural activities, & even special immunities. Problems related to immigration in Western Europe have centered on immigration from the outside as opposed to the Eastern European focus on emigration. The importance of state-building in Eastern Europe is discussed. 50 References. J. Lindroth