ECMI Publications Database
Building Bridges Within and Across Diverse Societies: The Role of States
Author:
Dr. Zora Popova
Pages:
18
Source:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Release Date:
18-12-2018
Can national minorities be successful in bringing societies together by linking communities within and across state borders if states are not supportive to their initiatives? To open a discussion on the topic, the current issue brief focuses on the actor behind the scenes – the state – and its role in the establishment of a sociopolitical environment that if not supportive, as a minimum would not impede their efforts. By identifying and analysing several types of roles that a state can play, the paper introduces analytical models aiming to provoke a critical reflection and to emphasise that understanding complex phenomena needs a comprehensive approach and a focus both on content and structure but also in the dynamics of their interplay.