LECTURE 10

The ethnic dimension of regionalism in East-Central Europe

This lecture was based on the presentation and discussion of a case study entitled Political options and interpretations of ‘national interest’ in the context of labor migration from Romania to Hungary. The presentation was a stimulating starting point for the debate, providing students with a complex and comprehensive view of the social and political interactions where ethnic and national identity is constantly defined, redefined and used as a tool. As a conclusion, everyone agreed that at least in Central-East-European context ethnicity should be taken into account as an important factor in regional development. Several students volunteered to work on smaller pieces of local case studies in heir home localities and regions in order to identify the variety of situations where ethnic interactions within the local community are influencing local and regional policies.

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