European Policies for Social Inclusion of Roma: Catch 22?

Abstract

The article analyzes contemporary political discourses with regard to social inclusion of Roma on the basis of comparison with achievements and failures in the previous historical period of the communist rule in Eastern Europe. It argues that since the vast majority of the European Roma had lived in the past and continue living nowadays in the countries of Eastern Europe, no successful policy for their inclusion is possible without taking into account the experiences and outcomes of the actions for Roma integration in the socialist period. The experience from the times of socialism shows that successful policies are possible only in an appropriate socio-political context and only if accomplished within the mainstream approach. Against this background, the article scrutinizes the European Policies for Social Inclusion of Roma, and explains why they present a Catch 22 situation: There is a vicious cycle of problems which need to be solved; the solution requires a special policy for inclusion, however this policy stigmatizes Roma and sets them even more apart from the rest of society. Thus the vicious cycle of problems expands. The main point of the article is to propose an explanation of this failure of democracy and liberalism, which could constitute a useful lesson for the future.

‘It's the best place for them’: normalising Roma segregation in Madrid

“…Yet the state is not the only agent in the creation of Roma marginalisation: the conflict in Villaverde reveals the need to pay attention to the intertwining of the world‐views, actions and positions of a variety of actors, and their roles in creating multiple levels of exclusion. I have wanted to convey this layered proliferation, taking an ethnographic lens both to the past and the present, ‘linking and crosschecking’ one with the other as Marushiakova and Popov (: 20) argue for the study of Roma and policy in Europe more broadly. Seen in this light, the difficulties faced by governmental and non‐governmental organisations attempting to dismantle the educational segregation of Roma children in Europe to which I referred at the start of this article (UNICEF ) appear indeed predictable: how indeed to cut the head of the hydra?…”

Roma, Adequate Housing, and the Home

“…[1] An example is the Council Recommendation of 2013, where the use of Roma as an umbrella term is justified by supposed "similar cultural characteristics" shared by the different groups included in this category. As Marushiakova and Popov (2015), among others, have noticed, these supposed "similar cultural characteristics" are used to define a group of people who share little or nothing among each other.…”

“…The second section presents an analysis of how the understanding of "adequate housing" and the identified adequacy parameters inform the representation of Roma and housing policy recommendations. This analysis adopts the theoretical lens of post-colonial studies, intending to unveil the hidden patterns through which classification and representation contribute to the persistence of relations of power, in particular in the case of Roma (Gay y Blasco 2003;Richardson 2006;Simhandl 2009;Trehan and Kóczé 2009;Vitale 2009;Boschetti and Vitale 2011;McGarry and Drake 2013;Piasere, Solimano, and Tosi Cambini 2014;Rodríguez Maeso 2014;Kostka 2015;Marushiakova and Popov 2015).…”

The making of a ‘risk population’: categorisations of Roma and ethnic boundary-making among Czech- and Slovak-speaking migrants in Glasgow

“…whether sedentary or not' (European Commission 2011, 2). This is seen as a problematic attempt to (re)classify heterogenous groups as a European transnational minority (Vermeersch 2012;Marushiakova and Popov 2015). At the same time, many academics have pointed out that despite the EU and individual European countries investing significant political and financial resources, the lives of Roma living in Europe have hardly improved (Nicolae 2011;McGarry 2012;Sigona and Vermeersch 2012;Stewart 2012;Curcic et al 2014), and that 'many Roma still belong to the poorest, most segregated, most discriminated against and least "integrated" populations in Europe' (Sigona andVermeersch 2012, 1189).…”

“…Marushiakova and Popov 2015). Relatively little attention has been paid to how measures aiming at improving the lives of Roma actually 'work' in practice, especially in the context of more recent Roma migration within Europe.…”