Non‐territorial and territorial objectives of Central and Eastern European ethnoregional parties

Abstract

In Central and Eastern Europe, even the post‐ socialist period has not made it easy for ethnic communities to exercise their linguistic and cultural rights, and territorial autonomy or self‐government, as a risk to territorial integrity, has been granted only in exceptional cases. This paper focuses on the main objectives of ethnoregional parties to reorganise the power structure of the national political system. The study is based on an analysis of core documents from 92 parties in 15 Central and Eastern European countries, identifying and classifying the objectives set out in these documents. The results highlight the ethnoregional objectives in Central and Eastern Europe, including not only the cultural‐linguistic dimension but also the need to change internal/external borders or the division of power within each state, highlighting the diversity and complexity of the problems and objectives underlying each category.