This report brings together the available evidence from primary and secondary sources, including household surveys and results of recent qualitative studies, to develop a picture of the development challenges facing Roma populations in Central and Eastern Europe. While living standards have declined for all population groups during the transition to a market economy, there are growing indications that conditions have deteriorated more severely for Roma than for others, and that Roma are poorly positioned to take advantage of emerging economic opportunities. This report focuses on five countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. The first chapter of the report provides the historical context and an overview of the methodological issues and main data sources; chapter two presents the available evidence on welfare status and living conditions, examining poverty, housing education, employment and health; chapter three considers issues relating to access to social services; and the final chapter reviews the opportunities for Roma participation in the design and implementation of community development policies and programmes, and outlines policy implications.

This collection of papers discusses the experience of the Roma in eastern and central Europe since the collapse of Communism.

The volume presents the results collated in the frames of the fact finding project led by the editor. The analysis includes the examination of a large number of legal documents and policy statements issued by national authorities and the international community on the matter. A critical overview is also made about the various Roma-specific political campaigns on national and European scale. The second half of the book contains interviews with activists that assumed a leading role in school desegregation. These testimony pieces have been critically reviewed by educational and policy analysts from the concerned countries.

Over the past two decades, in the wake of the postcommunist transition, the emergence of Romani activism has been an important development accompanying political changes in Central and Eastern Europe. This book discusses the emergence of the transitional Roma movement and the genesis of the Roma issue in international politics.

The collapse of communism and the process of state building that ensued in the 1990s have highlighted the existence of significant minorities in many European states, particularly in Central Europe. In this context, the growing plight of Europe's biggest minority, the Roma (Gypsies), has been particularly salient. Traditionally dispersed, possessing few resources and devoid of a common "kin state" to protect their interests, the Roma have often suffered from widespread exclusion and institutionalized discrimination. Politically underrepresented and lacking popular support amongst the wider populations of their host countries, the Roma have consequently become one of Europe's greatest "losers" in the transition towards democracy. Against this background, the author examines the recent attempts of the Roma in Central Europe and their supporters to form a political movement and to influence domestic and international politics. On the basis of first-hand observation and interviews with activists and politicians in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, he analyzes connections between the evolving state policies towards the Roma and the recent history of Romani mobilization. In order to reach a better understanding of the movement's dynamics at work, the author explores a number of theories commonly applied to the study of social movements and collective action.

This is part of a two-volume set presenting current analyses of political and economic developments and trends in central and Eastern Europe. In this volume, emphasis is on social and political developments. Coverage includes parties and party systems in Eastern Europe, Central European moralist diplomacy, the emergence of the Hungarian party system, educational reconstruction, and xenophobic attitudes towards migrants and ethnic minorities in the region. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Following the enlargement of the European Union in May 2004, Roma (or gypsies) are now the largest minority group in Europe. They are also one of the poorest and most vulnerable groups, living mainly in Central and Eastern Europe, suffering poverty levels as high as ten times that found within majority populations. The lack of information about the living conditions and needs of Roma people compound these stark gaps in human development outcomes. This publication, prepared for a conference held in Budapest, Hungary in June 2003, brings together original sociological research, evaluations of programme initiatives, and the first comparative cross-country household survey on ethnicity and poverty. It finds that Roma poverty is multi-faceted and can only be addressed by a inclusive policy approach which respects their diversity.