[Discussion] Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues

[Gonul Pultar]

CFP- South Caucasus: Minorities & Ethnopolitical Conflict, JEMIE, No. 2
(2003)

Call for Papers:

The South Caucasus: Minorities and Ethnopolitical Conflict
Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE)
Issue No. 2, 2003
ISSN: 1617-5247

Editor-in-Chief: Graham Holliday & Gwendolyn Sasse
Consulting Editor: Marc Weller
Assistant Editor: William McKinney

International Editorial Board:

Gudmundur Alfredsson; Marie-Janine Calic; Richard Caplan
François Grin; Ted Robert Gurr; Lauri Hannikainen
Rainer Hofmann; Donald Horowitz; Jennifer Jackson Preece
Charles King; Will Kymlicka; Joseph Marko; John McGarry
Margaret Moore; Brendan O'Leary; John Packer;
Alan Phillips; Max van der Stoel; Stefan Troebst

The Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE) is a
peer-reviewed electronic journal that is edited under the auspices of
the
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI). JEMIE is a
multi-disciplinary
journal, which addresses issues across a broad field of studies,
including
ethnopolitical conflict, conflict management in divided societies,
nationalist movements, minority issues and minority rights. It is
devoted to
the analysis of current developments in minority-majority relations in
the
wider Europe, and aims to stimulate debate amongst academics, students
and
practitioners on issues of instability that are hampering integration
and
democratic development. As an electronic journal, JEMIE also aims to
promote
scholarly debate across as broad an audience as possible, and make the
latest literature available to students who do not have ready access to
an
academic library.

Every quarter, a Special Focus section highlights a topic of particular
interest to students of minority issues and ethnopolitics. The second
issue
of 2003 will include a special section examining minority-majority
relations
and dynamics in the South Caucasus, under the working title: The South
Caucasus: Minorities and Ethnopolitical Conflict.

The South Caucasus is often overshadowed by the conflict in the north
and
neglected by outsiders through lack of informed debate and balanced
analysis. Yet, despite the ideal conditions for conflict to erupt in the
region, minority-majority relations and dynamics have, more often than
not,
resulted in a situation of relative stability, however tenuous this
stability might be in reality. Nevertheless, following the dissolution
of
the USSR, ethnopolitical mobilization in the South Caucasus has become
more
and more entrenched over the years. Structural and institutional
legacies as
well as opportunities and incentives during the post-Soviet transition
have
fostered real as well as potential conflict. Much of the region is
characterized by a situation of frozen conflicts and de facto
mini-states,
and, in stark comparison to South Eastern Europe, has demonstrated the
limitations of international intervention.

As for minorities, a legacy of nationalist mobilization has resulted in
the
dominance of titular groups, whose religion and languages have become
established as the majority norm, and the consequent marginalization of
minority communities. Moreover, many of these minority groups are in
reality
'hidden', most importantly the Armenians throughout the region, as well
as
the Georgians in Abkhazia. Independence for these communities has often
brought considerable economic and social hardships, and relatively few
benefits that other regions have experienced in their transition to
democracy. This has resulted in migration to the Russian Federation,
which
still retains strong links and influence in the region, but also brings
concomitant problems of weakening indigenous minority representation and
consolidating an ever stronger diaspora community abroad. Forced
population
movements and the creation of breakaway republics are also consequences
of a
worrying trend in the region towards mono-ethnicism.

Although conflict is not uncommon to the South Caucasus - from Abkhazia
to
Nagorno Karabakh to South Ossetia - recent history demonstrates that
there
is both the potential for conflict prevention as well as conflict, for
accommodation as well as violent upheaval. This Special Focus aims to
analyse these dynamics in more detail. In particular, authors are
encouraged
to look at the following topics:

 * Discuss the regions' 'frozen' conflicts, including the causes and
   dynamics of the conflicts and efforts to break the deadlocks, and
assess the
   prospects for their resolution.

 * Analyse the varied and complex situations during post-Soviet
   state-building and transition faced by the different minority
communities in
   the South Caucasus.

 * Evaluate the role and impact of international actors and
   intergovernmental organizations region, examining their respective
   motivations and potential influence.

Submissions should be up to date, highly informed and accessible.
Initial
publication of articles is scheduled for the beginning of June 2003 with
articles being accepted and published over the following quarter.
Manuscripts of between 7,000 and 10,000 words may be submitted via email
to
Graham Holliday and Gwendolyn Sasse.  Articles should include an
introductory abstract (max. 150 words) and concluding biographical note
(max. 70 words). Final decision on publication is reserved by the
editors.

Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Schiffbrücke 12
D- 24939 Flensburg, Germany

Tel:  +49 (0) 461 141 49 51
Fax: +49 (0) 461 141 49 19
Web: <www.ecmi.de>