Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Roma Of Eastern Europe In Transition: Historical Marginalization, Misrepresentation, And Political Ethnogenesis, Michael Bobick

Honors Papers

This thesis primarily deals with how the ongoing political transformations in Central and Eastern Europe have affected one particular group, the Roma or Gypsies. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, many initially greeted the radical reconfiguration of hegemonic governmental structures with nationalist zeal, and the democratization of socialist regimes was universally hailed as a victory for all. But for the Roma, a historically persecuted pariah group continually surrounded by misconceptions and Orientalist stereotypes, the radical transformation to "Western" capitalism and democracy must not be viewed in such a positive light. As an ethnic group the Roma exhibit a wide-ranging …