The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian Youth
Publisher: Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe Volume: 38 pages, pdf Description: The political and civic participation of citizens is essential for “making democracy work”. The nationalizing approach to state-building adopted by Estonia in the early 1990s limited the political participation of its large Russian-speaking minorities. Democratic nation-building, the approach favoured by European institutions, requires that states provide minorities with opportunities to participate in socio-political structures and to maintain and develop their culture. While Estonia made significant reforms during the EU accession process, barriers to minority participation remain.