TY - BOOK AU - Stroschein,Sherrill TI - Ethnic struggle, coexistence, and democratization in Eastern Europe T2 - Cambridge studies in contentious politics SN - 978-1-107-00524-2 U1 - 320.947 23E PY - 2012/// CY - Cambridge, New York, Melbourne [etc.] PB - Cambridge University Press KW - Democratization--Europe, Eastern KW - Europe, Eastern--Ethnic relations KW - Ethnic groups--Political activity--Europe, Eastern KW - Minorities--Political activity--Europe, Eastern N1 - Bibliogr. p. 261-279; 1. Ethnic protest, moderation, and democratization -- 2. Time, process, and events in democratization -- 3. Ethnic contention in context -- 4. Local violence and uncertainty in Târgul Mureș, 1990 -- 5. The power of symbols: Romanians, Hungarians, and King Mathias in Cluj -- 6. Forging language laws: schools and sign wars -- 7. Debating local governance: autonomy, local control, and minority enclaves -- 8. Implications of group interaction N2 - "This book argues that protest by ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Slovakia brought about policy changes and integrated Hungarian minorities into the democratic process. Ethnic protest allowed groups to learn about the nature and limits of each other's claims, facilitating new democratic institutions"--; "In societies divided on ethnic and religious lines, problems of democracy are magnified , particularly where groups are mobilized into parties. With the principle of majority rule, minorities should be less willing to endorse democratic institutions where their parties persistently lose elections. While such problems should also hamper transitions to democracy, several diverse Eastern European states have formed democracies even under these conditions. In this book, Sherrill Stroschein argues that sustained protest and contention by ethnic Hungarians in Romania and Slovakia brought concessions on policies that they could not achieve through the ballot box, in contrast to Transcarpathia, Ukraine. In Romania and Slovakia, contention during the 1990s made each group accustomed to each other,Ŵs claims, and aware of the degree to which each could push its own. Ethnic contention became a de facto deliberative process that fostered a moderation of group stances, allowing democratic consolidation to slowly and organically take root"-- ER -