Democracy, Populism and Minority Rights [antikvár]

Foreword Martin Schulz This publication expresses the great importance the Socialist Group in the European Parliament attaches to the fight against all forms of political extremism in the European Union and elsewhere. To sharpen our arguments, we engage in a continuous debate with experts and those directly involved. This was also the main motive for our Group's conference, co-hosted by the Austrian Renner Institute, on "Democracy, Populism and Minority Rights" which took place on 1 February, 2008 in Vienna, and is the basis of this book. Socialists and social democrats are and should be very concerned about growing populism and an increasing lack of respect for minorities. This publication deals with recent developments in new Member States but one should not overlook the threats to the so-called older democracies. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe have nevertheless in the last two decades gone through a democratic and socio-economic transition which is without precedent. Ten Central and Eastern European countries became members of the EU in 2004 and 2007 respectively. Given the fact that before accession all political energy was invested in the membership negotiations, it is no surprise that latent difficulties linked to the manifold transition processes came to the surface afterwards, culminating in expressions of extreme nationalism, the rise of populist parties and the reappearance of unresolved questions concerning minorities. In this publication, edited and introduced by Socialist Group Vice-Presidents Hannes Swoboda and Jan Marinus Wiersma, these trends are analysed by well known researchers and prominent colleagues from the new Member States. You will find a variety of individual contributions which do not represent official Socialist Group positions but will give a better insight and provide lessons on how to move our agenda forward. It was and remains our aim to make the transition in the new Member States (and, for that matter, the countries of the Western Balkans) a success, meaning well-functioning democracies, socially responsible governments and respect for individual human and minority rights. Martin Schuiz (Member of the European Parliament) is the President of the ® Socialist Group.