Rostas_Sisyphus_CEU_2019.indd 1 15/07/2019 09:34 Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 1 03/07/2019 22:16 Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 2 03/07/2019 22:16 Rostas_SISYPHUS_07.indd 3 04/07/2019 09:41 © 2019 Iulius Rostas Published in 2019 by Central European University Press Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-3138 or 327-3000 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9789633863190 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rostas, Iulius, author. Title: A Task for Sisyphus: Why Europe’s Roma Policies Fail / Iulius Rostas. Description: Budapest ; New York : Central European University Press, 2019. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019011500 (print) | LCCN 2019980045 (ebook) | ISBN 9789633863190 (hardcover) | ISBN 9789633863206 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Romanies—European Union countries—Politics and Government—21st century. | Romanies—European Union countries—Ethnic Identity—Case studies. | Romanies—Cultural assimilation—European Union countries—Case studies. | Romanies—Government policy—European Union countries—Case studies. | Romanies--Czech Republic. | Romanies—Hungary. | Romanies—Romania. | Czech Republic—Ethnic Relations—Political aspects. | Hungary—Ethnic relations—Political aspects. | Romania—Ethnic relations—Political aspects. Classification: LCC DX210 .R67 2019 (print) | LCC DX210 (ebook) | DDC 323.11914/9704—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019011500 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019980045 Printed in Hungary Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 4 03/07/2019 22:16 CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................ VII CHAPTER I. .......................................................................................................... 1 Ethnic Identity as a Social Category and as a Process CHAPTER II. ........................................................................................................ 49 Policy-making, Policy Models, and the Roma CHAPTER III. ...................................................................................................... 97 Policies towards Roma in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania CHAPTER IV. ...................................................................................................... 147 The EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies—Soft Governance of Complex Issues CHAPTER V. ........................................................................................................ 217 Conclusion: Failure, Data, and What Comes Next ACKNOLEGEDGMENTS ............................................................................ 249 LiST OF REFERENCES ................................................................................ 253 INDEX ....................................................................................................................... 279 Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 5 03/07/2019 22:16 Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 6 03/07/2019 22:16 PREFACE Despite the increasing number of policy measures and initiatives tar- geting the Roma in Europe, their position has continued to worsen. This condition stems from a policy paradox that requires answers from policymakers, activists and academics. This book offers several an- swers to the question why policies towards Roma in Europe are failing. According to the European Commission, Roma in Europe number between 10 and 12 million people. Roma have been in Europe for cen- turies, and have been key cultural agents across the continent, both historically and in the present day. At the same time, Roma are Europe’s most marginalized minority group. Over the past twenty-five years, numerous policy initiatives have been launched to address the situa- tion of Europe’s Roma. The most prominent of these were the national Roma strategies developed by the governments of the then EU candi- date member states in Central and East Europe; the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 initiated by the World Bank and the Open Society Institute and, most recently, the EU Roma Framework introduced in 2011. Currently there are numerous articles published on the situation of the Roma and some focus on the narrower topic of policies towards Roma, but there is no comprehensive approach to policy-making towards the Roma in Europe that takes on the policy paradox described above. A prime cause of the limited impact of these policies on the Ro- ma’s situation is the lack of ethnic relevance of these policies, that is, their failure to take into adequate consideration the crucial importance of Romani ethnic identity as a causal factor in the social exclusion and Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 7 03/07/2019 22:16 VIII A TASK FOR SISYPHUS marginalization of Roma. While the literature on ethnicity and ethnic identity has increased exponentially in the last two decades, there have not been many initiatives that analyzed ethnic policy-making and the role of policy-making in shaping the ethnicity/identity of ethnic groups. My work draws upon the research carried out by Rawi Abdelal, Yoshiko Herrera, Alastair Iain Johnston, and Rose McDermott, “Treating Identity as a Variable,” which developed a unifying theory of collective identi- ty that opens up new conceptual and methodological approaches to understanding institutions (2009). My work locates collective identity, specifically that of Roma in Europe, as key to understanding power re- lations within the European Union with regard to policy-making. By ap- plying a theory of collective identity to a heterogeneous ethnic group, which is highly stratified across multiple cleavages, spread across the entire European continent, without a kin state and regarded as the most vulnerable group in the European Union, I provide a new perspec- tive on why policies towards Roma are failing. This book covers a wide area in social sciences—racial and ethnic studies, policy studies, and Romani studies. By putting these litera- tures into conversation with each other, I develop a new theoretical framework for analyzing policy-making toward Roma. The way gov- ernments manage and accommodate ethnic diversity is an important ingredient in the consolidation of the democratic norms and institu- tions in a political system. There is increasing attention paid to Roma within academic circles and an increased number of courses at differ- ent universities across Europe dedicated to Roma or that cover the situation of Roma among other subjects. It is key to bring the Roma into the current critical discussions of ethnicity and identity. In order to do so, my book is at once critical and interdisciplinary, using Critical Race Theory, policy design theory and classic democratic theory to analyze policy content and processes, thus bringing new perspectives on ethnic identity, policy studies and Romani studies alike. The book provides answers to the big question that few scholars dare to ask: why policies towards Roma in Europe are failing. After Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 8 03/07/2019 22:16 PREFACE IX three rounds of policy-making specifically targeting Roma in Europe, it is time for the academic community to explore the causes of the failure in order to effectively address the Roma predicament, which requires an interdisciplinary approach. Thus, I analyze the issue from multiple perspectives and disciplines using policy analysis, discourse analysis, and legal analysis. In providing answers to the big question —why policies towards Roma are failing—I focus on the policy-mak- ing process, the construction and categorization of Roma by different actors within this process, policy concepts employed by policy-makers over the last twenty-five years, the policy instruments used and the institutional arrangements that govern the Roma related issues. In spite of the widely held belief that the exclusion of Roma is due to their high poverty rate that causes a dependency trap, I argue that the problems faced by Roma in Europe originate primarily due to their persistent lack of power in influencing public agenda, in the defining of their own interests, and in their ability to negotiate their priorities. That lack of power is visible in the social construction of Roma ethnic iden- tity. Antigypsyism is a central concept in the formation of Roma ethnic identity and explains the patterns of Roma mobilization. I define anti- gypsyism, its intellectual roots, and its different forms of expression in order to have a comprehensive view on Roma policy-making. To sup- port this argument, I will use Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania as case studies, although I also make comparisons to other countries. All three countries have significant experience in democratic policy-mak- ing towards Roma in the last twenty-five years, having been active participants within the three waves of policy-making targeting Roma. They have been seen as successful models for democratization, the protection of human rights, and the managing of diversity and ethnic minorities. These three countries have different models of Roma rep- resentation with varying degrees of opportunities offered for Roma participation, with the Hungarian system of minority self-government being the most complex. Roma within these countries constitute a significant population in Hungary and Romania and a tiny minority Rostas_SISYPHUS_06.indd 9 03/07/2019