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ECMI Research Clusters

Culture & Diversity

Through a number of research angles, the Cluster addresses one of the key challenges that societies and governments face today – the management of cultural diversity. 

Conflict & Security

The Cluster will approach contemporary challenges relating to the security of minority groups under the broader umbrella of minority rights’ protection.

Justice & Governance

An effective protection of national minorities presupposes a clear and consistent legal framework, established institutional arrangements which provide efficient implementation of set norms.

Politics & Civil Society

Politics and Civil Society Research Cluster is focused upon political and civic agency of different types of minority communities (national, ethnic, linguistic), as well as that of their individual members. 

Cross Cluster

We are constantly widening our scope of research. Find a selection of our latest cross-cluster projects here:
ECMI Education
Summer School 2019

Prof. Dr. Vello Pettai

ECMI Director (1 March 2020)

Further Information

Dr. Andreea Carstocea

Acting Director (Senior Research Associate)

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Dr. Sergiusz Bober

Acting Director (Head of the cluster "Politics & Civil Society")

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Dr. Ljubica Đorđević-Vidojković

Senior Research Associate

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Dr. Kyriaki Topidi

Senior Research Associate

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Dr. Marika Djolai

Senior Research Associate

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Caitlin Boulter

Junior Research Associate

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Sonja Wolf

Junior Research Associate/ on maternity leave

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Viktoria Aygül

Research Assistant/ on maternity leave

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Azizzhon Berdiqulov

Project Assistant

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Polina Sulima

Project Assistant

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Craig Willis

Research Assistant

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Mariana Jimsheladze

Library Coordinator/ on maternity leave

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Maj-Britt Risbjerg Hansen

Head of Secretariat

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Roisin O’Mahony

Secretarial Assistant

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Katharina Jürgensen

International Communications Coordinator

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Adrian Zeqiri

Director ECMI Kosovo

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Nataliia Mekahal

ECMI KYIV based representative, Ukraine

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ECMI Publications
Publication Database

News from ECMI InfoChannel

ECMI supports GIZ project in Serbia with its Expertise in the Field of Roma & Education

2020-01-22

ECMI supports GIZ project in Serbia with its Expertise in the Field of Roma & Education

In the frames of the project Career guidance and counselling for vulnerable groups in Serbia, ECMI experts contributed to the brochure TALENTE ENTDECKEN & FÖRDERN (“Discovering and Supporting Talents”) published by the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ), the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Land Schleswig-Holstein.
Read more on ECMI InfoChannel
***ECMI Minorities Blog: A post-election update on the Brexit implications for Celtic Languages in the UK***

2020-01-07

***ECMI Minorities Blog: A post-election update on the Brexit implications for Celtic Languages in the UK***

Amongst all the Brexit noise there has been limited scrutiny on specific impacts, including from the angle of traditional native minority languages. This article aims to highlight potential future implications on Celtic languages that Brexit could have on themes related to: legal instruments, funding opportunities, regional economic impact, pan-European cooperation opportunities, and independence movements. In this, particular focus is given to potential short and long term implications of what still remains a hypothetical unknown phenomenon.
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Ein Brief mit Folgen...

2020-01-03

Ein Brief mit Folgen...

Anlässlich des Todestages des ECMI Gründervaters und ehemaligen Grenzlandbeauftragten Kurt Hamer, möchten wir  Ihnen heute einen besonderen Brief  zeigen. Die folgenden Zeilen hat Kurt Hamer an den Ministerpräsidenten des Landes Schleswig-Holstein verfasst. Obwohl  der Brief  wegen des Todes von Kurt Hamer (03.01.1991) nicht mehr rechtzeitig abgeschickt werden konnte, haben seine Gedanken die Geschichte des europäischen Zentrums für Minderheiten maßgeblich beeinflusst
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Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year from the ECMI!

2019-12-20

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year from the ECMI!

The ECMI team says thank you to all our partners for a productive year 2018 and wishes all of you a wonderful holiday season and a peaceful new year.
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***ECMI Minorities Blog: Towards Evidence-Based Minority Policy: Processing of Ethnic Data and Monitoring the Quality of National Minority Protection***

2019-12-18

***ECMI Minorities Blog: Towards Evidence-Based Minority Policy: Processing of Ethnic Data and Monitoring the Quality of National Minority Protection***

Collection of ethnic data is a tool and not a goal. It should be part of a systematic and carefully considered process throughout which the crucial questions on “what type of data or ethnicity and/or race are processed, using which definitions and for which purposes are they collected” are clarified.
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Minorities in the Digital Age: ECMI conducts Expert Workshop

2019-12-12

Minorities in the Digital Age: ECMI conducts Expert Workshop

Honoured guests are today in the historic building of the ECMI headquarters. Today and tomorrow the experts will elaborate on Minorities and Digitalization: Minority Languages and Digital Media, Hate Speech, Freedom of Expression and Digital Media, Minority Media and Digitalization, Big data and Minority Protection – all these topics stand on the busy agenda of the intense two-days’ workshop.
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*** ECMI Minorities Blog: Why the States Fail to Secure Their Minorities: Securitisation and Minority Rights ***

2019-12-04

*** ECMI Minorities Blog: Why the States Fail to Secure Their Minorities: Securitisation and Minority Rights ***

Sharing spaces in diverse societies and creating fair policies to manage diversity is not always a smooth process, and significant presence of the minorities more often than not leads to some form of insecurity. A notion that minorities pose a threat to the society and social order is used as an excuse by the governments to turn against them, often employing different forms of violence.
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Exhibition Opening: ECMI project Empowering Future Minority Leaders (in Moldova)

2019-11-28

Exhibition Opening: ECMI project Empowering Future Minority Leaders (in Moldova)

We proudly present the newest ECMI project. The aim of the project is to support minority youth as a vulnerable group in Moldova by improving their prospects for their future by fostering their civic engagement as an inevitable part of their own economic and social progress.
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*** ECMI Minorities Blog: Regulating Hate Speech Online for Minorities: “Regulate First, Ask Questions Later”? ***

2019-11-12

*** ECMI Minorities Blog: Regulating Hate Speech Online for Minorities: “Regulate First, Ask Questions Later”? ***

Read the first ECMI Minorities Blogpost on Hate Speach regulation, written by ECMI Senior Researcher Dr. Topidi.
Read more on ECMI InfoChannel
Minority and Security experts bundle their knowledge: Workshop of the Conflict and Security Cluster!

2019-11-07

Minority and Security experts bundle their knowledge: Workshop of the Conflict and Security Cluster!

Under the title: “Insecurity from below: Minorities, Security and Securitisation of Group Relations” the ECMI has invited renowned experts from various fields of Minorities and Security. On the 6th and 7th of November, they will share their understanding of the most important security issues for minorities in Europe.
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Can an EU-wide basic income compliment the Minority SafePack Initiative?

2019-10-29

Can an EU-wide basic income compliment the Minority SafePack Initiative?

This research comes at a timely moment, with representatives of the Federal Union of European Nationalities currently visiting EU member state governments and parliaments to lobby for support for the MSPI. The latest publication in the ECMI Working Paper series analyses the broader goals of the Minority SafePack Initiative (MSPI) and considers whether a form of universal basic income (UBI) could be a tool to enhance the situation of national minorities within the European Union.
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The newest ECMI Issue brief introduces the concept of national minority capital

2019-10-23

The newest ECMI Issue brief introduces the concept of national minority capital

In eight pages, the author of the issue brief, Dr. Zora Popova explains the concept of national minority capital and defines it against the background of minority and social capital studies.
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The latest ECMI Project in Ukraine has been successfully concluded

2019-10-22

The latest ECMI Project in Ukraine has been successfully concluded

The project “Diversity Management for sustainable economic Development” (DMD) has been accompanying the ECMI throughout 2019. The Highlight of the pioneering initiative has been the closing workshop last week (October 17th) in Kyiv.
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Schackenborg Dialog 20-20: ”Krieg und Frieden - 100 Jahre neue Grenzen in Europa”

2019-10-16

Schackenborg Dialog 20-20: ”Krieg und Frieden - 100 Jahre neue Grenzen in Europa”

Anlässlich des 100. Jahrestages der deutsch-dänischen Grenze veranstaltet die Stiftung Schackenborg gemeinsam mit dem Europäischen Zentrum für Minderheitenforschung in Flensburg (ECMI) und der dänischen Gesellschaft für Außenpolitik in Kopenhagen (Det Udenrigspolitiske Selskab, DUS) eine Vortragsreihe unter dem Titel ”Krieg und Frieden – 100 Jahre neue Grenzen in Europa” auf Schloss Schackenborg.
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New ECMI Senior Researcher Dr. Marika Djolai travels to Belgrade

2019-10-14

New ECMI Senior Researcher Dr. Marika Djolai travels to Belgrade

After presenting a paper on illiberal democracy and its determinants in the Balkans at the “Conflict. Stability. Democracy?” conference in Belgrade last month, Marika will again travel to Belgrade this week. This time, she will participate in the Belgrade Security Forum.
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Words that hurt: The topic of Hate Speech in the digital media age is hot

2019-10-09

Words that hurt: The topic of Hate Speech in the digital media age is hot

It is with great pleasure that we can announce the publication of two working papers on Hate Speech this week. Both are written by the ECMI Senior Researcher Dr. Kyriaki Topidi.
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