Ethnic Conflicts and Civil Society Proposals for a New Era in Eastern Europe

This title was first published in 2000: The papers presented in this volume are based on the discussions of a workshop which asked: how can ethnic and political cooperation be accomplished in ethnically and politically heterogeneous countries after the collapse of the communist regimes which left a void for nationalist and even chauvinist movements? The objectives are: to promote a better understanding of the contemporary "ethnic" conflicts and their social, cultural and political causes; to determine the historical, structural and political developments that have led to or intensified these conflicts; to analyze and develop positive role models for coping with such conflicts; to provide constructive proposals for future conflict resolution mechanisms; and to identify the crucial elements for building trust-generating institutions on the basis of the civil society model. The papers address ethnic conflicts in Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on the former republics of Yugoslavia. They aim to go beyond the analysis of causes and manifestations of such conflicts and to offer constructive ideas for the post-Civil-War period.

List of Editors and Contributors, Abbreviations, Preface, I. INTRODUCTION, 1. Ethnic Conflicts and Cooperation Among and Within States, II. THEORETICAL APPROACHES, 2. Conflicts Between Different Nationalities: Chances for and Limits to Their Settlement, 3. Reducing Ethnic Conflicts: Contemporary Approaches to Conflict Resolution in Western Europe, III. CASE STUDIES: DOMESTIC EXPERIENCES OF ETHNIC CONFLICTS, 4. Temptations of Transition and Identity Crisis in Post-Communist Countries: The Example of Former Yugoslavia, 5 Autonomy as One of the Means of Minorities' Protection: The Case of Slovenia, 6. Ethnic Conflicts in Croatia?, 7. Ethnic Politics in Ukraine, 8. The Relationship Between the Majority and the Minority in a Composed Region: The Case of Vojvodina, 9. The Media: Social Constructions in Inter-Ethnic Communication in Romania, IV. CASE STUDIES: DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCES OF SUCCESSFUL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, 10. Ethnic Coexistence and Cooperation in Switzerland, 11. Conflict and Integration: The Main Principles of Social Cohesion in the United States, V. SYNOPSIS, 12. Ethnic Cooperation and Coexistence: International Mediation, International Governance, and Civil Society for Ethnically Plural States

Klinke, Andreas; Renn, Ortwin; Lehners, Jean-Paul