The European Dimension of Minority Political Representation. Bulgaria and Romania Compared
The European Dimension of Minority Political Representation. Bulgaria and Romania Compared
Author(s): Maria Spirova, Boyka StefanovaSubject(s): Civil Society, Political history, Government/Political systems, Comparative politics, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Sociology of Politics
Published by: SAGE Publications Ltd
Keywords: minority politics; EP elections; ethnic parties; Bulgaria; Romania;
Summary/Abstract: The political integration of ethnic minorities is one of the most challenging tasks facing the countries of post-communist Europe. The roads to their political representation in the mainstream political process are numerous and diverse. The EU accession of the Central and East European countries has expanded the scope of the political participation of minorities by adding an electoral process at the regional level: the elections for members of the European Parliament. This article presents a comparative study of the ways in which EU-level electoral processes affect the scope and quality of minority representation on the example of the participation of ethnic political parties in Bulgaria and Romania in the 2007 and 2009 electoral cycles of the European Parliament.
Journal: East European Politics and Societies
- Issue Year: 26/2012
- Issue No: 01
- Page Range: 75-92
- Page Count: 18
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF