Western Donors, Romani Organizations, and Uses of the Concept of Nation after 1989

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v3i1.52

Keywords:

Essentialization, Roma, Donors, Nationalism

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between Western donors and Romani and Romani-friendly organizations in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989. Based on literature review, interviews, reports, and websites, this paper upholds that the burst of Romani and Romani-friendly organizations in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 primarily was made possible by financial support and expertise coming from Western organizations. Together with their work methodology, so-called donors took their own framework on  understanding groupings and enforced the concept of nation upon Gypsy/Romani populations. Therefore, Western donors and Romani activists and intellectuals alike essentialized (claimed) Gypsy/Romani traits in order to support a nation-building rhetoric. These Romani activists and intellectuals, in turn, are a legacy of policies from planned economies, and they actually might represent Gypsy/Romani communities from a privileged perspective – no longer fully insiders but as a vanguard.

Author Biography

  • Douglas Neander Sambati, Independent researcher associated with the Group of Interdisciplinary Studies on Cultural Heritage – Univille/Brazil

    Douglas Neander Sambati holds a PhD in Historical Sociology from Charles University, Czech Republic, writing his dissertation on the Historical Sociology of the Romani Nationalism: Foundations, Development and Challenges. Previously, he obtained an MA in Cultural Heritage and Society (Univille/Brazil) and a BA in History (Univille/Brazil). Among his topics of interest are nationalism, processes of identification, education, sociomuseology, anarchist theory, and minorities.

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Published

12/11/2020

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

Western Donors, Romani Organizations, and Uses of the Concept of Nation after 1989. (2020). Critical Romani Studies, 3(1), 26-45. https://doi.org/10.29098/crs.v3i1.52