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In 1989-91, the end of the Cold War was enthusiastically greeted as the
dawn of a new era of greater stability, prosperity, and opportunity. Yet
ten years on, these hopes have not materialized in full. Many countries
and entire regions in Central and Eastern Europe suffer from political and
economic instability : the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Russian
Federation are just three examples. Other countries, such as Poland,
Hungary, and the Czech Republic, have done much better. One of the most
troublesome issues has been the heightening of inter-ethnic tensions and
even the escalation of ethnic conflicts across Central and Eastern Europe
and the former Soviet Union. Confronting the resurgence of minority and
majority nationalism in post-1989 governments had to engage in minority
politics as one part of the transformation process to open societies.
Against the background of foreign and domestic policy goals, they had to
strike a balance between the interests of the majority population and the
claims of ethnic groups. Phenomena of this kind, however, are not a
novelty in European history. The 'Western' half of the continent has had
its fair share in ethnic conflicts in the twentieth century, most of which
have been resolved (e.g., South Tyrol), while few continue tocause strife
in the societies affected (e.g., the Basque country).
The workshop proposes:
- to examine different types of ethnic conflict regulation across the
European continent, including minority rights, territorial autonomy,
federalism, power-sharing as well as bi- and multilateral conflict
management, involving ethnic minorities, their patron-states and their
host-states
- to analyze how and why some settlements have provided a lasting and stable
framework in which the conflict parties can reach mutually agreeable
solutions for their various differences without taking recourse to the use
of violence
- and to assess the future of ethnic conflicts and their management in
Europe. The workshop organizers welcome proposals on any of these aspects,
case studies (historical or current, single or comparative) as well as
more theoretical explorations of conflict settlement.
The workshop is part of the Seventh ISSEI conference: Approaching a New
Millennium: Lessons from the Past - Prospects for the Future which will
take place in Bergen, Norway, from the 14th to 18th August 2000. Further
Details about the organisation of the conference can be obtained from the
ISSEI 2000 website listed below.
Proposals for papers should be emailed to both organisers Ulrich
Schneckener and Stefan Wolff.
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