Rise, Fall and Revival: A Century of Transethnic Coalition-Building in Europe

Smith, D. J. (2015) Rise, Fall and Revival: A Century of Transethnic Coalition-Building in Europe. Trans-ethnic Coalition-Building within and across States, Uppsala University, Sweden, 7-9 Jan 2015.

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Publisher's URL: http://www.ucrs.uu.se/transethnic-conference-2015+/

Abstract

The First World War is generally considered both as the endpoint of a 19th century ‘age of nationalism’ and as the progenitor of new nationalist conflicts that contributed to the further disaster of 1939-45. However, the experience of the war and its aftermath also prompted spokespersons for different ethno-cultural communities to unite transnationally in pursuit of conflict regulation and democratic integration within and across European societies. Such initiatives remain a feature of the present-day European political scene, having derived additional impetus in recent times from the end of the Cold War and the fall of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper briefly analyses the origins and nature of transnational ethnic coalition-building in Europe during the hundred years since 1914, with particular reference to its institutional goals and strategies and to the structural factors that impede and facilitate its activity. It first considers the minority activism of the 1920s Nationalities Congress and its failed efforts to overcome both nationalising statehood and homeland nationalism within inter-war Europe. Points of comparison and contrast are then drawn with subsequent and ongoing transnational initiatives that have developed within the framework of post-1945 European integration.

Item Type:Conference or Workshop Item
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Smith, Professor David
Authors: Smith, D. J.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Central and East European Studies

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