Abstract

Nation states and minorities resort more and more to violence when safeguarding their political interests. Although the violence in the Middle East has been dominating world politics for some time now, European governments have had their share of ethnic violence to contend with as this volume demonstrates. And as the case studies show, ranging as they do from the Basque Country to Chechnya, from Northern Ireland to Bosnia-Herzegovina, this applies to western Europe as much as to eastern Europe. However, in contrast to other parts of the world, instances where political struggles for power and social inclusion between minorities and majorities lead to full-fledged inter-ethnic warfare are still the exception; in the majority of cases conflicts are successfully de-escalated and even resolved. In a comprehensive conclusion, the volume offers a theoretical framework for the development of strategies to deal with violent ethnic conflict.

Farimah Daftary is a former Senior Research Associate of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg, Germany.

“In particular, in German-speaking Europe there is a lot of expertise on ethnic tensions in Central and Eastern Europe…as this book testifies. The chapters are well written and can be read as separate pieces…They are of a high quality.” • Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

Stefan Troebst is Professor of East European Cultural Studies at the University of Leipzig and a former Director of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI), Flensburg, Germany.