ABSTRACT
The collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s brought with it a fundamental reshaping of social, political and economic conditions in the countries of this region. These changes also manifested themselves dramatically in a recalibration of the relationships between ethnic minorities and the titular majorities of the countries concerned. Breaking free from Soviet and communist domination, minority and majority communities reclaimed and asserted their ethnic identities and sought to establish conditions conducive to the expression, preservation and development of such identities. While the liberalisation of political systems across the region provided some of the impetus for this, it failed initially to create a situation characterised by recognition and tolerance of the wide spectrum of distinct ethnic identities and an acceptance that states must respect the rights of all their citizens to identify with a particular ethnic community without fear of discrimination. Institutional uncertainty and instability, combined with the negative consequences of economic reforms and the budgetary constraints it placed on the governments of the transition countries, exacerbated sometimes pre-existing ethnic tensions. The dynamics ensuing from this, at times deliberately stirred up by political entrepreneurs seeking to maximise electoral support, led to a significant increase in the number of inter-ethnic conflicts in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
