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The first part of the study looks at the historical context of the symbolic and territorial competition between Romanians and Hungarians, dwelling on the issue of Transylvania and the competition for historical legitimacy. It bridges, against this background, the question of Hungarian identity to a concept developed elsewhere as a part of a national minorities doctrine: that of community privacy. Territorial autonomy, currently invoked in several Hungarian projects, represents one possible answer to the need for the community privacy of Hungarians in Romania. Another manifestation of community privacy is cultural autonomy. The study then discusses the provisions of the current draft law on the statute of national minorities in Romania and shows that it has reduced cultural autonomy to its political dimension. This form of reductionism, together with the role granted to organizations of citizens belonging to the national minorities, harms the internal democracy of minority communities. Given the current political and social context, in order to be successful in their promotion of autonomy the relevant actors in the Hungarian community must overcome their differences and agree on a set of minimal goals as an expression of their identity as a community.
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The aim of this paper is to assess whether the term “Balkanism”, coined by Maria Todorova, is still actual in its definition. To fulfil such objective, the term Balkanism will be analysed in its meaning whilst its growing relevance will be assessed through the analysis of several articles that appeared in Italian newspapers. In the recent literature about Balkanism, very little effort is taken to understand whether the term exists in newspapers’ narrative, especially in Italy. Indeed, the country, bordering on the Balkan peninsula, always reserved a special consideration about the region, even if the post-war influence over the Balkans has been monopolized by other countries such as Germany. To fill the gap in the literature, it is therefore important to analyse the narrative of the most important national newspapers and, going over the articles in the period 2013-2017, we can assure how “Balkanism” is actual in its definition.
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The article discusses the situation of the Ukrainian minority in Poland and the Polish minority in Ukraine with special emphasis on education. The author made a comparative analysis showing the policy of the authorities towards the education, the state numbers and the problems they intend to overcome the minority.
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This paper examines the issue of poverty and social exclusion of Roma in Slovakia. It highlights the problem of poverty among Roma communities, which together with segregation leads to absolute poverty and social exclusion. Based on ethnographic research the paper examines conditions in which inhabitants of segregated Roma communities sustain their livelihoods. In the qualitative part of our research we ask how inhabitants of segregated settlements organize and manage their livelihood and what strategies and practices they use to ensure social reproduction. Further, we assess the articulations between exclusion and social networks and other spheres of assets, including formal and informal labour, state benefits and the use of material assets. We argue that spatial segregation has an enormous impact on poverty.
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Dobruja, one of the provinces of Romania, spreading between the Danube and the Black Sea, is a good example of multi-ethnic cohabitation. For hundreds of years, it has been the home of peoples which, through their culture, way of life, and tolerance, have yielded the current configuration of the region’s profile. A collection of documents and chronicles containing precise references to the ethnic origin of the population of Dobruja clearly shows that the majority of the rural population in the region was Romanian. The population of the ports was fluctuating and heterogeneous. The Turkish-Tartar population, which was Muslim, lived mainly around the town of Babadag. Turkish and Tartar shepherds in search of pastures left behind material traces which attest to the local Turkish-Tartar folklore. Irrespective of its place of origin, each ethnic group, be it a minority or a majority one, was able to assert its identity both inside and outside its community. The numerous cultures and civilisations which settled in this province have maintained their national specificity for hundreds of years. Nevertheless, these peoples have also carried out gradual mutual exchanges, which are currently regarded as identity-defining cultural assets. The evolution of society and the infiltration of the urban lifestyle have led the villages in Dobruja to gradually abandon their patriarchal way of life, while the Dobruja peoples’ traditional manners of manifestation lost some of the picturesque character of the original cultures. The ethnic groups of Dobruja, these sedentary, isolated, and relatively closed communities, preserved ancient practices regarding the customs associated with the cycle of life – birth, marriage, death. These evolved into complex systems, integrated into the ethnic traditions of each people and have presently acquired social, ceremonial or spectacle-like significations. The objective of this research is to highlight the evolution of the funeral ritual of the Tartars of Dobruja and the Dacoromanian influences that have left their mark on it in time. The investigation method employed in this scientific enterprise is the semi-directive interview. The subjects were selected based on their age and experience with respect to the chosen theme.
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The author discusses story-telling of the Ukrainians from Slavonia on the basis of already published material and her own fieldwork. She investigates two mutually interrelated linguistic and thematic layers: the impact of the Croatian language and Croatian oral literature on Ukrainian tales (on story-telling in Ukrainian) and the preserved elements of Ukrainian language (and tradition) in the tales told in Croatian. The elements of the Croatian language in Ukrainian tales are studied in their German translations where Croatian expressions have been left untranslated. In Croatian recordings of the same tales that layer cannot be seen. In the recordings of Ukrainian tales in Croatian the elements of Ukrainian are of course noticeable. In discussing the interrations of the story-telling repertoire of the Croats and the Ukrainians it is pointed that story-telling is a living process, i. e. that certain motifs flow from one tradition to another. This is illustrated by the comparison of motifs of Ukrainian tales with the motifs of Croatian tales from the same village, and with the variants of the same tales from Slavonia.
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The political system of First Czechoslovak Republic was characterized by the large number of political parties organized on ideological, religious and ethnic grounds. Besides Czechs and Slovaks, which constituted a majority of the population, Germans, Hungarians, Ruthenians and members of other ethnic minorities lived in Czechoslovakia. The multi-ethnic composition of Czechoslovakia resulted in the creation of a number of political parties which represented the ethnic minorities. In Slovakia one of the opposition political parties representing the Hungarian community was the Land Christian Socialist Party (Orságos Kerestényszocialista Párt). Though the Land Christian Socialist Party (LCHSP) endeavored to represent as well as Hungarians also a segment of Slovaks, Jews and Ruthenias who were magyarized by the pre-War Hungarian regime, this aim had only marginal success, and the LCHSP was primarily a political party representing Hungarians. In regard to the Czechoslovak Republic, during its existence it assumed a strictly oppositional attitude. The main aim of the political strategy of LCHSP was to constitute an alliance of “historic” inhabitants of Slovakia; that is Slovaks, Hungarians, Germans, Ruthenians and others who would be united in their resistance against the Czechs, who were perceived as occupants of Slovakia to the detriment of all others ethnic communities. This aim, however, was not successful, not only in regard to non-Hungarian communities living in Slovakia but also in regard to the Hungarian community as a whole. Besides the left-oriented Hungarians who joined the Communist Party, political opposition was not the exclusive domain of LCHSP. A large segment of Hungarians were adherents to the influential Hungarian opposition party, the Hungarian National Party (Magyar Nemzety Párt), which pursued a relatively moderate approach to the Czechoslovak political establishment, and therefore differed and competed with the LCHSP. Relations between both parties were frequently tense and conflicting, and only in 1936, when they succumbed to the pressure of Hungary, were the Land Christian Socialist Party and Land Christian Socialist Party united.
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The migration flux towards Turkey from the region in crisis has periodically been the case till the Republic was founded. Communist regime of Bulgaria has caused over 300 thousand Pomaks and Turks to migrate to Turkey in 1989. Then Saddam Huseyin’s persecution to Kurds created the similar migration wave towards Turkey with the number of half milyon people. After Syrian civil war broke out 3.5 milion Syrians migrated to Turkey as a consequence of Turkish “open door” policy. These huge amount of migrated population were either transitive immigrant or permanent immigrant. Both situation urged Turkey to launch an educational policy for immigrants.
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The paper presents the background of the unique story of children arriving from Cuba to the United States through the analysis of the events of the so called ‘Peter Pan Operation.’ The nature of the programme was largely different from today’s child migration as it took place in an organised manner, with active help from the State Department of the U.S. and the Catholic Church. Within the framework of the ‘Peter Pan Operation,’ a total of 14,048 children left their homeland in an organised way. The explosion of the Cuban missile crisis meant the end of the campaign; from then on, Cuba stopped flights to the United States. There were several reasons for starting or continuing the ‘Peter Pan Operation.’ Cuban parents began to send their children to Miami for fear of losing patria potestas (parental control) over their children. We can also put the question in the broader context of the political events of 1960–1962. From these, we can raise three main issues: 1. education reform; 2. the conduct of power over the Catholic Church; 3. the fear of communism, and the spread of a communist ideal. This study interrogates the ‘Peter Pan Operation’ phenomenon through an analysis of these three problems.
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The article consists of two parts, combining the sociological reflection with the preliminary report of the sociological research conducted in 2016 in municipalities neighboring with Opole. In the first part, the author provides an analysis of the most recent publications about the relationships linking local communities with changes and challenges of the world in the computerization era, placing them in the framework of the functioning of self-government in Poland and Opole in the late 20th and early 21st century. The report of the research, which the author carried out together with Katarzyna Widera, relates to various bonds and needs of those among the municipalities adjacent to Opole which were planned for partial incorporation into Opole in 2016.
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This article considers the most important factors of national affiliation and cultural identity cherishing among the largest nations and national minorities in Vojvodina, the north Province of the Republic of Serbia. The consideration is based on the empirical data's collected thru wider research of multiculturalism in the mentioned region. According to the polling, the most frequent factors of the national affiliation sense cherishing are "to observe tradition and custom" and "education of children in the spirit of national culture", while in the case of cultural identity preserving they are "formal education" and "family education of the children". Explaining the characteristic attitudes of the questioned citizens, the authors are of the opinion that the collected data's are strongly pointing on the rise of traditionalism in vojvodinian/serbian society, which needs further studies and new theoretical explanations.
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Protection of minorities (the recognition and preservation of minority rights) is one of the challenges facing the modern international law. Successful resolution of this issue significantly supports the stability in some area, region and the stability of international relations in general. Protection of minorities occupies an important place in activities of European organizations, especially the Council of Europe. The author presented the system of minority protection implemented within the organization by means of an analysis of individual decisions of the European Commission of Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and an analysis of contents of documents on minority protection adopted under the aus-pices of the Council of Europe (European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities).
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The Danish experience pertaining to the interreligious dialogue and Christian-Muslim relations is very peculiar. In recent decades it has been marked by extremely negative episodes and political exclusivity, but also by very significant and strong dialogue initiatives. The aim of this article is to illustrate the current situation and to offer an analytical insight into the sequence of events by which Denmark came into focus regarding Islam and Muslims. In this respect, the article addresses the status of religions, the challenges and opportunities of interreligious dialogue, as well as prospects of coexistence.
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In article the attempt to analyse the Ukrainian-Jewish relations during the marked period in a paradigm of the concrete historical phenomenon - emigration of Ukrainians to the countries of America at the turn of XIX - XX centuries is made. Scientific novelty. Relationship of two peoples - Ukrainian and Jewish - has long and complicated history which needs complex and impartial scientific research. Need of such research is caused not only cognitive interest, but also political relevance. Unfortunately, the wrong or consciously distorted interpretation of the past quite often leads to a complication of the international relations. It is especially dangerous when it results from organized campaigns and appeals, actions of certain people and groups or policy of the governments which is based on ethnic nationalism.
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In July 2017, during a meeting of the Council on Interethnic Relations, in the framework of the Strategy of Russia’s national policy the Russian president declared that children should not be forced to study indigenous languages in the national republics of Russia. In November of the same year, the Republic of Tatarstan’s Parliament abolished compulsory study of Tatar language in schools, contrary to the Constitution of Russia and its Federal legislation providing equal legal statuses to Russian and Tatar languages in the Republic of Tatarstan. Tatars, being a Turkic nation with Islamic views, are the second largest ethnic population in Russia, where the dominant vector of national identity is orthodox and Slavic. Recently, the issue of Tatar identity and Tatar language is under pressure from political discourse which prevails over the legal order, and which may lead to a decrease in the level of multiculturalism in the country. The author concludes that the Rule of Law is at risk since the rights of minorities to an education in their native language, which are guaranteed not only by international treaties but also by the Constitution and Federal law of Russia, are being disregarded or opted out of by the new Law on Education in Russia.
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The purpose of an article is to analyze the concept of «the identity» of theoretical discourse, to identify its crisis for settlers from the East of Ukraine and to search for possible ways out of the marginality zone. The methodology. To achieve this goal, the following research methods were used: semiotic analysis, the generalization of the problem under study, content analysis, systemic and historiographical methods, scientific works from the theory and history of culture, ethno-cultural science were used. Scientific novelty. The research consists in summarizing the concept of «national identity» and identifying its critical state in the context of a military conflict. Conclusions. In modern conditions, essential changes occur in the socio-cultural space and the formation of a national identity of the individual. Man, as a social being, is in constant interaction with the surrounding world, with other people and continuously identifies himself with different social groups, defines his status in society, his attitude to one or another event. Maximum consideration of historical experience and the creation of sophisticated methods for the study of ethno-national identity will contribute to the procedural nature of the concept being studied.
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The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of national minorities‘ rights ensuring in the Slovak Republic. The methodology of the study is interdisciplinary combining analysis and synthesis, description, regulatory analytical research. Scientific novelty of the received results lies in the complex analysis of legislation ensuring national minorities and ethnic groups' rights in the Slovak Republic. Conclusions. Slovak Republic legislation on national minorities' rights are based on the UN, European Council and OSCE documents. Basic national minorities' rights are enshrined in the Constitution and the laws of the Slovak Republic. All the citizens of the Slovak Republic have the same rights regardless of nationality. The government provides comprehensive support to the development of the material and spiritual culture of national minorities. So Slovak Republic citizens that belong to national minorities and ethnic groups enjoy the opportunity to develop their material and spiritual culture, exercise state-guaranteed rights and bring to life opportunities provided by the legislation of Slovak Republic.
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Székely Levente (szerk.): Magyar fiatalok a Kárpát-medencében – Magyar Ifjúság Kutatás2016 (tanulmánykötet). Kutatópont Kft. – ENIGMA 2001 Kiadó és Médiaszolgáltató Kft.: Budapest, 2018. 508 oldal
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Die vorliegende Abhandlung präsentiert zwei- und dreisprachige Volkslieder der Siebenbürger Sachsen aus dem Tonbandbestand des Instituts „Folklorearchiv der Rumänischen Akademie” in Cluj-Napoca und skizziert deren Liedbiographie, indem auch Belege aus anderen deutschsprachigen Liedlandschaften herangezogen werden. Unsere Liedbeispiele stammen von Audioaufnahmen, die in den 60er-70er Jahren auf Feldforschungen in ethnisch gemischten siebenbürgischen Dörfern durchgeführt worden sind. Eine Umfrage zu diesen Liedern unter den heutigen Siebenbürger Sachsen ergänzt die Analyse mit aktuellen Informationen. Die gemischtsprachigen Volkslieder sind von der Form und Funktion her mit den Kunstmischliedern verwandt und zeichnen sich meist durch die humoristische Wirkung der Sprachmischung aus. Diese für die mehrsprachigen Gegenden charakteristische Liedgattung ist nicht nur für die Erforschung der Mehrsprachigkeit, sondern auch musikalisch interessant. In diesem Sinnekann sie im Hinblick auf die interethnischen Wechselbeziehungen in der südosteuropäischen Volksmusik, sowie für das Problem der Zirkulation der Volksgüter relevant sein.
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