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Romani Nation-Buildingromani Word 15,867 Count: Budapest, Hungary Budapest, Submitted to Submitted Romani Nation-building: The Claim for Recognition of a Non-Territorial Romani Nation (The Cases of Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia) By Senada Sali Submitted to Central European University Department of International Relations and European Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Relations and European Studies Supervisor: Professor Emel Akçali Word count: 15,867 CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2015 Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Professor Emel Akçali for encouraging and guiding me in improving this project, as well as, for her friendly attitude, creativity and invaluable advice for successfully completing my research. I would also like to thank my family for their constant patience and support through my academic journey. CEU eTD Collection ii Abstract Today, there are an estimated 10-12 million Roma living dispersed all around Europe, lacking their own state and territory. After centuries of exclusion, facing hostile governments and bound by rules created without their participation, a number of Roma elites have come to the idea for claiming recognition of a single Romani non-territorial nation, as a method for improving the Romani position in Europe. The claim does not incorporate a demand for territory, and is mainly based on the argument that: ‘Roma are a Nation, as all other nations, sharing same tradition, culture, origin, and language’. In this thesis, I problematize the claim for recognition of a ‘non- territorial’ Romani nation, put forward by the Romani elites and activists through the activities of the International Romani Union. I explore two main research questions (1) what are the perceptions of the Romani masses about their national identity, do they converge with the demands and claims of the Romani elites and activists? (2) to what extent is an elitist-constructed approach for national unity viable in cases of highly dispersed, heterogeneous, and stateless groups, such as the Roma?. In order to answer these questions, I will use the findings from my field research in Kosovo, Macedonia, and Serbia. I add to the existing literature by examining how Romani individuals, perceive their own national identity, confronting those perceptions with the demands of the elites. CEU eTD Collection iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………….....ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………..............iii Table of Contents …………………………………………………………………………...................iv Introduction ………………………………………………………………………..…………...............1 Previous Research on Roma Identity…………………………………………………………...............5 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………............8 CHAPTER 1. The concept of non-territorial nation………………………………………….............12 1.1. Non-Territorial National-Cultural Autonomy by Bauer and Renner……………………............12 1.2. Applying the concept of Non-Territorial National-Cultural Autonomy in Romani context….....16 CHAPTER 2. Roma Nation-building…………………………………………………………...….....22 2.1. Evolution of ideas for Romani Nation……………………………………………………...……22 2.2. The International Romani Union (IRU)……………………………………………………….....25 2.3. The Fifth Romani World Congress and the Declaration of a Roma Nation……………………..28 2.4. Individual perception of Roma from Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia ………………………….32 2.4.1. Serbia…………………………………………………………………………………………....32 2.4.2. Macedonia…………………………………………………………………………………….....38 2.4.3. Kosovo…………………………………………………………………………………………..42 CHAPTER 3. Romani Nation in Praxis...…………………………………………………………….46 3.1. The reality of a top-down approach in Romani Nation-building………………………………..46 Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................53 Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………….55 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………...59 CEU eTD Collection iv Introduction The Roma are the largest ethnic minority living dispersed throughout Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, lacking their own territory and state. An interesting fact is that Roma are one of the rare minorities that have never initiated a war, rebellion action, or conflict aiming to obtain territory. After centuries of exclusion and marginalization, faced with hostile governments and bound by rules created without their active participation, a number of Roma elites have put forward the idea for recognition of a non-territorial Romani nation, as a method for improving the Romani representation and position in Europe. According to those Romani elites and activists, the recognition of a separate non-territorial Romani nation would grant an opportunity for the Roma to be represented in international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations, with the same status as other governments, and attribute them with powers to create and enforce policies specifically dealing with the Romani interest and concerns.1 The most prominent event where Roma elites and activists expressed their interest towards the idea for recognition of a single, unified Romani nation was the Fifth Congress of the International Romani Union held in 2000 (Prague), when for the first time a ‘Declaration of a Roma Nation’ was drafted and distributed among the delegates of the Congress. 2 In the ‘Declaration of a Roma Nation’, it is stated: ‘We are a Nation, we share the same tradition, the same culture, the same origin, the same language. We have never looked for creating a Roma CEU eTD Collection State, and we do not want a State today.’3 1 McGarry Aidan, Who speaks for Roma - Political Representation of a Transnational Minority Community, New York (2010), Chapter 6, International Romani Union p.143. 2 Acton and Klimova, The International Romani Union, in Between the Past and Future, p.168-198. 3 Scuka Emil, Declaration of a Roma Nation: ‘We the Roma Nation’, International Romani Union, 2011.p.55-56. 1 However, contrary to what the Declaration propagates, in reality, Roma are not a single and unified nation. There are some evident differences within the community based not only on geography, language, culture or religion but, also on socioeconomic status, levels of integration, demands and interests. A qualitative research on Roma identity strategies conducted between 2002 and 2008 by the Institute of Social Anthropology at the University of Fribourg confirms the information that even though from the outside Roma are perceived as a single group, from the inside, the individuals stress differences among themselves, and express loyalty to a particular sub-group.4 However, despite the noted heterogeneity, Romani activists and elites, through the work of the International Romani Union (IRU), seek to unify all Romani communities in one Romani nation.5 This classic top-down strategy in nation-building is better known as the problem of founding, or paradox of constitutionalism. The paradox of founding is a conflicting situation in which a nation instead of being founded through a constitutive process in which the ordinary masses and the founding are mutually inclusive, is created by the activities of few individuals named as ‘ethno-political entrepreneurs’,6 who adopt an act (constitution or declaration) which arbitrarily constitutes the new, previously non-existent nation.7 In reality, such nation does not exist and is a mere creation of the ideas of these ‘entrepreneurs’. The paradox was for the first time allocated in the process of creation of American nation with the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. As Jacques Derrida argues, Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the founding CEU eTD Collection fathers, illegitimately appointed themselves as representatives of a non-existent American nation 4 Boscoboinik Andrea, Challenging Borders and Constructing Boundaries: An analysis of Roma political processes, Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Fribourg, p.182-183 5 Ibid. 6 The term is used by Brubaker in Ethnicity Without Groups, p.10, but is originally taken from the work of Pierre Bourdieu on Identity and Representation, p.220-228. 7The paradox is explained in a more detailed manner in the conference paper of Bernal, Angelica. "Jefferson and the Paradox of Founding" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Apr 02, 2009. 2 and proceeded to create a nation they claimed to represent.8 In this aspect, the Romani elitist attempt to construct a nation and seek recognition of it, is identical to those American efforts. However, the fact the Romani community is not concentrated on one particular territory, nor aims to obtain a territory in future (as expressed in the Declaration of a Roma Nation), makes the whole Romani nation-building process very specific and unique. By seeking to create a nation beyond nation-state borders, the Roma elites challenge the current Westphalian political order primarily based on inter-state relations as a main method for organization of the global political arena. Besides that, in the current context of globalization and transformation, characterized by, creation of many supranational organizations limiting the traditional powers of states, with clear tendencies for opening boarders for allowing constant flows of capital and populations from one to another state, when nationality becomes a more flux category the IRU model of constructing a non-territorial nation, presents an innovative way of solving
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