Roma heteroidentification in the National Roma Integration Strategies of the European Union countries

Abstract

As part of the EU’s social policy, the National Roma Integration Strategies (NRIS) have been in force until 2020. It was a pending task to systematically observe how these strategies define the Roma population and what element of the definition is prioritised. This is useful in understanding the limits of a unitary policy within the European Union concerning the Roma and also to analyse the orientation of said policies in each country. In this sense, we have previously defined what the Roma heteroidentification components are and we have selected the terms and lexemes that are associated with them. By using content analysis techniques, we have pinpointed the components in the NRIS and we have conducted a statistical analysis with the obtained data. The majority of EU countries define the Roma in their strategies as an ethnocultural, disadvantaged and discriminated group and, to a lesser extent, as foreigners or nomads. This heteroidentification is established based on the geopolitical bloc (East and West) to which the country belongs and the department in charge of the NRIS (mainly social departments or specific departments for minorities).