2003 International Policy Fellowship Program
Maria Spirova
Project Description
Political Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Bulgaria: the Roma Situation
Goal of the Project: The goal of this project is to produce a policy paper
with specific policy recommendations targeted at the Bulgarian governmental
institutions dealing with the problems of the Roma minority, NGOs involved
in the advocacy of their rights, and other appropriate institutions. The policy
paper will be based upon the conclusions of a longer research paper which
is outlined below.
Research Paper Outline
Introduction
Similar to the realities in the rest of the post-communist world, Bulgarian
political life has seen the emergence of numerous political parties but the
survival of only a few over the last 12 years of democratic governance. One
of the parties that have remained especially important in the Bulgarian political
arena is the Movement for Right and Freedoms – a de facto if not de jure party
of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria. It has maintained a very active
and at many times a crucial position in the array of political parties. It
has also successfully claimed the vote, and defended the interests of, the
Turkish minority in the country.
In contrast, there is no major party in Bulgaria representing the Roma minority,
despite the fact that the Roma represent a substantial presence in Bulgarian
society (sources cite numbers between 3.7 % and twice as much depending on
ways of identification). While a substantial number of Roma parties
have been founded and some of them have gained representation through alliances
with other political parties, no party has come close to achieving a stable
role in the political life or providing adequate representation of the interests
of the Roma minority.
This paper will attempts answer the question why this has been the case.
It starts by providing some theoretical and policy considerations on the need
and justification for the presence of a Roma party in Bulgarian political
life. Further, it describes the current state of development of Roma political
parties in Bulgaria and compares it to the situation of similar parties in
other Eastern European states (Romania and Hungary). The paper continues by
providing a detailed examination of the processes going on currently within
the Roma political parties in Bulgaria. Specific attention will be paid to
the question what factors have affected the presence or absence of attempts
by each party to cooperate with other Roma parties and form a larger and stronger
political entity. Data for this section of the paper will come from interviews
with Roma parties’ leaders.
1. Why Roma Parties?
a. Theoretical Considerations: This part of the paper
will provide a theoretical perspective on the need of a Roma party in Bulgaria.
It will situate the discussion in the tradition of the ethnic parties literature.
It will present both the arguments for and against the existence of ethnic
parties in a democratic polity.
b. Policy Perspectives: This section will provide a brief
overview of the ethnic parties situation in Bulgaria. It will discuss the
problems of the Roma minority in achieving political representation through
the “majority” parties and argue that a Roma party is needed if the interests
of this minority are to be represents and defended in the policy making process.
Briefly, this is the case because, unlike other segments of society, the Roma
minority has little to offer besides their votes to the mainstream political
parties in Bulgaria. As a result, even when the latter do make efforts to
reach out to the Roma, their interests are hardly ever adequately represented
despite election campaign promises otherwise.
2. Roma Parties Compared: Constitutional, Legal and Institutional
Factors
The second section of the paper will provide a relatively brief overview
of Roma parties in Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. It will compare the specific
country contexts on three main groups of factors -- legal, institutional
and political – and the ways in which they impact the development of Roma
political parties.
From a legal perspective, the analysis will will look at the constitutional
and other legal provisions that bear on the political representation of Bulgarian
minorities. Of special interest here will be constitutional provisions for
or bans on the establishment of ethnic parties, the laws on Political
Parties and the ways provisions for public financing and other state support
affects the situation of the Roma parties.
From an institutional perspective, the analysis will look at the constraints
or incentives provided for the political representation of the Roma minority
through political parties through the electoral system. An example of such
factors is the special electoral threshold for minority parties in Romania.
Finally, from a political perceptive the analysis swill address issue of
inter-party relations between the majority and minority parties in the
three countries. An example of such these factors is the failed cooperation
between the MRF and Evroroma party in Bulgaria.
3. Bulgarian Roma Parties: a Detailed Examination
This section will provide a description of the Roma political parties in
Bulgaria and a detailed analysis of the reasons that have prevented the formation
of a bigger political entity. Methodologically, the work will be carried
out through interviews and data collection. Data of two main kinds will be
collected:
a. Situational Data:
Party status
Party leadership
Party constituency
Party location
Party ideology
Party organizational development
Party success in winning votes in local and national elections
b. Policy Data (through interviews with party leaders):
Does the party see a need for a bigger Roma political entity?
Has the party made efforts to cooperate with other political parties?
What have been the factors influencing the party in this decision?
Has the party participated in any initiatives carried out by the state or
by NGOs aimed at the unification/cooperation of the political parties?
If yes, what are the impressions of the party of these initiatives?
If no, would they consider doing so?
Has the party cooperated with a majority party? Why?
If yes, what has been the experience? Would they consider it again?
What is the political goal of the party?
What do they think explains their success/failure in representing the interests
of their constituency?
This data will be validated through work with Roma NGOs.
Conclusion
Hopefully, as a result of this empirical work, the paper will be able to
discern the the effect of both situational and policy factors on the development
and behavior of the party. Consequently, it will be able to recommend policy
alternatives that can help the process of unifying the Roma political parties.
Both state and NGOs sponsored initiatives will be considered.
Mentors
Emil Koen, Human Rights Project, Bulgaria
Krasimir Kunev, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (acceptance pending)
Andrea Krizsan, Center for Policy Studies, OSI Group Mentor