Borders and Orders in Europe: Limits of Nation- and State-Building in Estonia, Macedonia and Moldova
The breakdown of communist rule provided new opportunities for the restoration of statehood and for national self-determination. Estonia, Moldova and Macedonia have in common a 'minority' large enough potentially to claim a share in nation- and state-building rather than being granted minority rights. Numerous cases of ethnic strife within post-communist states and beyond their borders have demonstrated that domestic ethnicity can easily internationalize ethnic relations. In the 1990s, however, the EU has entered Rogers Brubaker's classic triangle (state-nation, minority and homeland) as a fourth variable rather than a constant. Evidently, a country's contractual relation with the EU and its location in a newly divided Europe are relevant for the effectiveness of the EU's expanding toolbox for conflict prevention. Moreover, a mode of EU enlargement strictly based on conditionality implies a separation of regions of 'insiders' and 'outsiders' where different norms and strategies apply to minority issues.
New departures on the EU‐Russian Border? Assessing discourses and policy practices
Abstract This paper looks at the dynamic aspects of the EU's and Russia's policies regarding their shared border in the North before and after the enlargement of 2004. The paper shows how discourses and policy practices of the EU changed over the enlargement period. In addition, the paper discusses the current problems of practical interaction between Russia and the EU in their respective borderland.
Non-violence in ethnic relations in Estonia
The Soviet Union's collapse left in its wake many vexing problems, of which few have attracted as much attention as the tensions between nationalities. The Baltic republics were in the forefront of efforts to win independence from Moscow and enact reforms. Due to this vanguard role, accessibility to visitors, and links with exiles in Western lands, the Baltic countries' handling of the nationalities problem after regaining independence has attracted disproportionate scrutiny. Yet observers tend to make merely incidental remarks about one truly noteworthy aspect of relations between nationalities in these republics today: the absence of violence. Doomsayers suggest it is only a matter of time before an explosion occurs. Others take it for granted that the Baltic states will handle things in a civilized manner, and find nothing unexpected in the course of events so far. Careful consideration of possible reasons for the remarkably peaceful relations between nationalities in these countries would enable us to reach more informed decisions about the prospects for maintaining this pattern and lessons other countries might draw from the Baltic experience. This report examines the situation in Estonia, with emphasis on the relations between the Estonian and Russian nationalities. It is the tension between just these groups that has attracted the most attention in the Baltic area recently. Russian officials alleged mistreatment of Russians in Estonia and threatened to delay die departure of troops from the country, after reaching agreements on withdrawals with Latvia and Lithuania. The Baltic country where nationalities problems generated the most fuss but minimal bloodshed deserves a close look, in the quest to identify conditions that hinder eruption of violence in ethnic relations. Another reason to focus on Estonia is that its demographic situation is intermediate. Lithuanians constitute an overwhelming 80% of the population in their land, but the majority in Estonia is smaller (under 65%) and more worried about survival, while the Russian minority may see greater prospects for successful resistance to nationalist policies. In Latvia, the natives are a bare majority and the Russian minority is the largest in all the Baltic states, so a certain balance of power may restrain both sides from taking precipitous actions. A theory discussed below suggests that the potential for violence is greatest in a situation like Estonia's, where the power ratio is at an