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Ethnopolitics in the New Europe, by John T. Ishiyama and Marijke Breuning
Preface
Political movements that appeal to voters on the basis of ethnic ties have captured the attention of policymakers and scholars alike in recent years. Much has been written about the topic. Quite often, reference is made to age-old conflicts; in many works, there appears to be a sense of helplessness in the face of the ferocity that ethnic conflict has displayed at times. We do not share this sense of helplessness, but hope to show in these pages how political leaders shape the course of ethnic politics within their societies. Of course, ethnic resentments must be present for leaders to successfully appeal to their constituents on the basis of ethnicity; but such resentments exist in far more numerous places than those where ethnic conflict is found. What makes ethnicity politically explosive in some places and not in others? We contend that political leaders and political parties are a crucially important variable in shaping the course of ethnic politics.
Political leaders and parties react to the incentives presented by the political institutions within which they function. If ethnic resentments are present, then the incentives or disincentives presented by these institutions shape whether or not leaders will choose to tap into these resentments for political gain. Political leadership is a crucial variable here: It can whip moderate resentments into strong political demands or allay strong resentments with reasonable and moderate political claims. Political leaders cannot manufacture resentments that are not present and cannot ignore severe inequities that face ethnic groups in a society. However, between these two extremes are endless possibilities for politicians and their parties. As we discuss cases from Western and Eastern Europe in the chapters that follow, it will become evident that in all these instances, irrespective of the degree to which resentments were present, political leaders and their parties shaped the course of ethnic politics in significant ways. The Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms in Bulgaria, the Hungarian parties in Slovakia, the Russophone parties in Estonia and Latvia, the Flemish Volksunie and Vlaams Blok in Belgium, and the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru in Britain have this in common: Their leaders calculated whether to appeal to the sense of ethnic resentment among their constituents or to downplay it on the basis of the political possibilities presented by the political institutions of their society.
Hence, there is nothing natural or inevitable about ethnic conflict. Even if these conflicts were “age-old,” the sense of helplessness often conveyed in the literature is premature. There is much to be learned from the choices made by leaders to encourage or downplay the “ethnic card.” In this volume, we attempt to: (1) outline the shape and intensity of ethnic resentments that are at the heart of each case; (2) explain how in each case political leaders and parties choose to play into these resentments; and (3) straddle the traditional division between Western and Eastern Europe. As the Berlin Wall has fallen, so have artificial disciplinary boundaries. Despite the real and significant differences in their recent histories, many of the states in both Western and Eastern Europe currently cope with political appeals based on ethnicity. A comparison of the political responses in this “new Europe” shows that similar dynamics are at work in both the West and East.
This book is the product of close cooperation between both authors. The design of the study, explained in Chapter 1, and the Conclusion were written jointly. The chapters on the Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms in Bulgaria, the Hungarian parties in Slovakia, and the Russophone parties in Estonia and Latvia were first drafted by John Ishiyama; the chapters on the Volksunie and Vlaams Blok in Belgium and the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru in Britain were first drafted by Marijke Breuning. However, all chapters were developed jointly so as to maintain consistency in the treatment of each case. The final product, then, is a work that is coauthored in the true sense of the word.
This book would not have been possible without the consistent support and encouragement of our publisher, Lynne Rienner, and her staff. Truman State University provided financial support to us at a crucial time in the project, for which we are grateful. In the course of an endeavor such as this, inevitably family and loved ones suffer the absence or absentmindedness of the authors absorbed in their subject. Rose and Toaru Ishiyama and Eva and Max Breuning lived with each of us hunched over laptops during those scarce visits. David Ishiyama had to forego some summer fishing trips and other outings so that dad could finish his book. Many others suffered our preoccupations with this endeavor and we thank them all for their patience.
John T. Ishiyama
Marijke Breuning
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