Suchergebnisse

Romaphobia : marginalization and stigmatization in Europe --Strangers within the gates : territoriality and belonging --Roma identities : how Romaphobia distorts Roma identity --An expression of Romaphobia : socio-spatial segregation in Eastern Europe --Opre Roma! : challenging Romaphobia through pride protests --Roma citizenship in the European Union : a question of belonging --Conclusion.Understanding the causes of Romaphobia : between territoriality, identity and belonging.

Historical overview of Roma in Europe -- Political participation and representation of Roma -- Ambivalent discourse: rights-based theories on minorities -- Who speaks for Roma? organising structures of representation in Romania -- Self-government and interest representation in Hungary: a wrong step in the right direction? -- Roma representation in the transnational political context -- Conclusion

Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity: Romani Political Activism in Argentina, Colombia, and Spain uncovers an under-researched topic, Roma activism in South America, and compares this to Roma political activism in Spain. The trans-continental nature of the comparison is welcome as it reveals processes, institutions, and agency in diverse contexts and how these contexts create opportunities for Roma activism. Almost all studies of/on Roma communities focus on Europe, for obvious reasons, as this is where the largest Romani populations are to be found. Through its novel epistemology and methodology it challenges the Euro-centrism inherent in Romani Studies forcing us to look beyond our immediate surroundings.

This article argues that public space is important for marginalised communities in order to ensure visibility and presence in public life. Often minority groups are excluded from democratic procedures which favour majority interests and preferences. This is not to say that minority interests are incompatible with those of the majority but some marginalised groups are not anchored in public space, can suffer discriminatory treatment and lack the ability to control dominant, usually negative, ascriptions of group identity. This article explores two cases of marginalised communities and access to public space in post-socialist Europe: Roma and the LGBTI communities. Both communities have attempted to ensure their presence in public space through 'Pride' parades across Central and Eastern European capitals. The purpose of pride parades is to demand rights as citizens, such as equality and respect, and to ensure visibility in public life. On the one hand, visibility is important for LGBTI communities who remain relatively hidden and fear 'coming out'. On the other hand, for Roma, who are highly visible, pride offers an opportunity to harness this visibility to challenge prevailing negative stereotypes through an affirmation of group identity.

This paper was published in the journal Communist and Post-Communist Studies and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2016.06.002. ; This article argues that public space is important for marginalised communities in order to ensure visibility and presence in public life. Often minority groups are excluded from democratic procedures which favour majority interests and preferences. This is not to say that minority interests are incompatible with those of the majority but some marginalised groups are not anchored in public space, can suffer discriminatory treatment and lack the ability to control dominant, usually negative, ascriptions of group identity. This article explores two cases of marginalised communities and access to public space in post-socialist Europe: Roma and the LGBTI communities. Both communities have attempted to ensure their presence in public space through 'Pride' parades across Central and Eastern European capitals. The purpose of pride parades is to demand rights as citizens, such as equality and respect, and to ensure visibility in public life. On the one hand, visibility is important for LGBTI communities who remain relatively hidden and fear 'coming out'. On the other hand, for Roma, who are highly visible, pride offers an opportunity to harness this visibility to challenge prevailing negative stereotypes through an affirmation of group identity.

This paper was published in the journal Ethnicities and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796814542182. ; This article explores some of the myriad representations of Roma in Europe and argues that this proliferation makes it more difficult for policymakers to formulate coherent interventions, for academics to agree on a common conceptual language and for the majority to understand the inter-connected problems facing Roma communities. 'Representations' refers to how the community is understood by itself as well as by others. Whilst no community retains an uncontested image of itself and its identity, Roma communities have little or no control over how they are represented in the public sphere. Usually, representations of Roma originate and are sustained by non-Romani actors including international organisations, national governments and the majority. Of course, Roma communities have attempted to influence how they represent themselves externally to challenge negative stereotypes and internally, to raise a political consciousness and foster solidarity. Relatedly, the political representation of Roma is particularly important due to their weak political positioning in local, national and transnational contexts but also because it highlights the disparity between contested questions of who Roma are and devising policy interventions to address socio-economic and political exclusion. This article discusses a select number of prevalent Roma representations and links the representation of Roma identity to the public presence and agency of Romani communities.