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Reliance on International Treaties as a Means of Protecting Minority Rights: An Effective Strategy or Waiting for Nothing? The Case of the Polish Minority in Lithuania

100%

Szymanski C.

Miscellanea Historico-Iuridica

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2022

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vol. 21

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issue 2

335-366

EN

This article focuses on the legal and political impact of international minority rights treaties on the Polish minority in Lithuania. An analysis will be made as to whether and to what degree they have been followed by Lithuania, and, overall, whether they have been effective for the Polish minority in Lithuania. The possibility that they are more of a false promise will also be addressed, and whether or not reliance on international law – perhaps in conjunction with local political action within Lithuania – is a good strategy for Poles in Lithuania. In general, international law norms have not had a direct impact, at least as applied by various international tribunals and other bodies. Cases brought by ethnic Poles before the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the U.N. Human Rights Committee have not yielded significant results. The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities does directly address many of the issues raised by the Polish minority, but it is not enforceable absent enabling legislation. Yet, recent positive domestic legislation and case law in Lithuania have mitigated these concerns, suggesting that political mobilization, using international norms as a benchmark to be obtained, is much more effective than relying on international law on its own.

2

Poland? But which? Jewish Political Attitudes toward the Polish State in Formation during World War I

63%

Silber M.

Przegląd Humanistyczny

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2019

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vol. 63(1 (464))

39-64

EN

What kind of country are we talking about when we speak of Poland from the perspective of the organized Jewish political leadership in Poland? What should the scope and characteristics of the new Polish state in their view be? What kind of relations should Poland have with neighbouring states, as well as within, among its various populations and societies? The paper explores the changing answers given by different political Jewish leadership in a period of liminality – the interval between two stages and two distinct situations: the imperial order (Austrian and Russian) and the Polish national state. It examines Galicia and the Congress Poland from 1914 to 1918 when the territory was disputed among different empires and nations and its fate was far from clear. The article claims that the different visions of Poland presented by the Jewish leadership were grounded in two assumptions. The first was that the Jews as an integral part of society were legitimately entitled to express their own vision of the future state, the second – that the Jews, as an integral part of society, were entitled to equality on all levels of social life. That is the reason, the article claims, behind the demands for a fair distribution of the state’s resources regardless the mother tongue, religion, or ethno-national identification. The efforts the leaders of the Polish Jewry made to include the Jews as a minority group equal to others in the Polish state took place in the framework of the ethno-national ethos as the constitutive principle of state-building. The changing political circumstances and the growing hegemonic discourse based on the nation and nationality brought, claims the article, to the raising of a new Jewish national leadership during World War I. This leadership became convinced that, in the light of the discriminatory policies and growing anti-Jewish violence, only a mechanism of minority rights could guarantee Jewish existence in Poland.

3

Hungarian-Romanian Political Relations in Northern Transylvania between 1940 and 1944 from the Perspective of the Transylvanian Party

63%

Murádin J. K.

Prague Papers on the History of International Relations

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2016

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issue 1

72-81

EN

The paper deals with the problem of ethnic relations in Northern Transylvania after the Second Vienna Arbitration, when Hungarians became a majority and Romanians became a minority in the region, offering an overview of the problem from the political perspective. The paper concentrates on the analysis of the minority politics of the Erdélyi Párt, the most important party of the Transylvanians at that time, with special focus on its basic conception regarding ethnic problems in Transylvania. It presents the foundation of the Transylvanian Party, its representation in the Hungarian Parliament and its relations with the government concerning the minority issue. The paper tries to give an overview on of the politics of the Transylvanian Party regarding the national minorities in Northern Transylvania: Romanians, Germans and Jews. It presents the successes and the failures obtained by the party in this matter in some very important aspects. Finally, the decline of the Transylvanian Party and its political heritage are presented. The source material of the paper consists of archival data, publications of the Transylvanian Party, special books, studies and publications in the contemporary press.

4

BORDERS VS. NUMBERS: ALBANIAN NATIONAL MINORITY IN THE SOUTH SERBIA BETWEEN NATION BUILDING IN KOSOVO AND EU MEMBER STATE BUILDING

63%

Gözübenli A. S.

Kwartalnik Naukowy Uczelni Vistula

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2019

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issue 2(60)

81-100

EN

Serbia and Kosovo are the two countries that want to join the EU as their ultimate goal. However, in order for this process to start, Kosovo, still not recognised by five EU member states, should be recognised by many countries including Serbia and these two former enemies have to solve the problems seriously to become allies. While the independence of Kosovo remains unacceptable for Serbia, today one of the main problems facing the parties is the border issues. Despite the fact that Serbia insists there is no state border between Serbia and its former province, the EU-mediated talks on the normalisation of relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which include the option of a border correction namely, land swap is taking place behind closed doors. The land swap solution suggests that Kosovo takes control of the Albanian-inhabited Preševo Valley of South Serbia while the Serb-inhabited four northern municipalities of Kosovo would be associated with Serbia. But this controversial step, depending on whom you ask, is a historical matter that can lead to a war or a great compromise. This paper aims to take a comprehensive look at the solution of the land swap between Kosovo and Serbia on the side of Albanian minority in the South Serbia, considering that the balances in this region are very dynamic, and to examine the importance of the EU membership motivation for solving such disputes. The analysis in this study has been conducted based on (a) interviews with political decision-makers in the Preševo Valley involved in talks about swapping land and journalists from the region, (b) author’s observations and field research, (c) objectives and priorities identified in the Brussels Agreement in 2013, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, and the instruments concerned with minority rights and the recognition of local autonomy (e.g. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and European Charter of Local Self-Government) compared to comments from the latest country-specific monitoring works by the EU and Council of Europe on the framework of the EU-facilitated Dialogue for the normalisation of relations between two countries.

PL

Serbia i Kosowo to dwa kraje, których ostatecznym celem jest przyłączenie się do UE. Jednakże, aby proces ten mógł się rozpocząć, Kosowo, wciąż nieuznawane przez pięć państw członkowskich UE, powinno zostać uznane przez wiele krajów, wliczając w to Serbię, poza tym ci dwaj byli wrogowie muszą rozwiązać problemy w sposób poważny, by stać się sojusznikami. Skoro niepodległość Kosowa pozostaje nie do przyjęcia dla Serbii, dziś jednym z głównych problemów stojących przed stronami są kwestie graniczne. Pomimo faktu, że Serbia obstaje przy tym, iż nie istnieje żadna granica między Serbią a jej poprzednią prowincją, rozmowy prowadzone z mediacją UE w sprawie normalizacji stosunków między Serbią a Kosowem, obejmujące mianowicie opcję korekty granic, za zamkniętymi drzwiami ma miejsce wymiana terenów. Rozwiązanie polegające na wymianie terenów sugeruje, że Kosowo przejmuje kontrolę nad zamieszkałą przez Albańczyków z tzw. Doliny Preszewa w Południowej Serbii, podczas gdy zamieszkałe przez Serbów cztery północne gminy Kosowa połączyłyby się z Serbią. Lecz ten kontrowersyjny krok, w zależności od tego, kogo się pytamy, jest problemem historycznym, który może prowadzić do wojny albo do wielkiego kompromisu. Artykuł ma na celu wszechstronne spojrzenie na rozwiązanie, jakim jest wymiana terenów między Kosowem a Serbią, po stronie mniejszości albańskiej w Południowej Serbii, uwzględniając to, że równowagi w tym regionie są bardzo dynamiczne, oraz zbadanie znaczenia motywacji, jaką jest członkostwo w UE, dla rozstrzygania takich kwestii spornych. Analizę w tym opracowaniu przeprowadzono na podstawie: (a) wywiadów z decydentami politycznymi w Dolinie Preszewa, zaangażowanymi w rozmowy o wymianie terenów, i dziennikarzami z regionu, (b) obserwacji i badań terenowych autora, (c) celów i priorytetów określonych w Porozumieniu Brukselskim z roku 2013, Układzie o Stabilizacji i Stowarzyszeniu oraz instrumentów dotyczących praw mniejszości i uznania autonomii lokalnej (np. Ramowa Konwencja w sprawie Ochrony Mniejszości Narodowych oraz Europejska Karta Samorządów Lokalnych) w zestawieniu z komentarzami pochodzącymi z najnowszych prac monitoringowych odnoszących się do konkretnych krajów prowadzonych przez UE i Radę Europy dotyczących ram dialogu pod auspicjami UE w sprawie normalizacji stosunków między dwoma krajami.

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Reliance on International Treaties as a Means of Protecting Minority Rights: An Effective Strategy or Waiting for Nothing? The Case of the Polish Minority in Lithuania

Poland? But which? Jewish Political Attitudes toward the Polish State in Formation during World War I

Hungarian-Romanian Political Relations in Northern Transylvania between 1940 and 1944 from the Perspective of the Transylvanian Party

BORDERS VS. NUMBERS: ALBANIAN NATIONAL MINORITY IN THE SOUTH SERBIA BETWEEN NATION BUILDING IN KOSOVO AND EU MEMBER STATE BUILDING