The International Romani Movement: New visions and strategic positions

Abstract

The paper aims to present key issues in the International Romani Movement (IRM), related to the instrumentalization of ethnic identity and politicization of ethnogenesis. The main argument is that the idea of the transnational non-territorial Roma nation combines traditional and novel aspects in nationbuilding. Ethnic identity, according to the interactionist and circumstantialist approach of Frederik Barth (1969), is a form of social organization, produced in the process of ascription and self-ascription, defined by the ethnic boundary, not the cultural enclosure. Accepting identity as dynamic and relational, we need to consider the process of interaction of the Romani movement with macrosocial political agendas (local, regional, national levels), as well as with the supranational (e.g. EU) level, and the influence of such interaction on the distribution of material and symbolic resources and ethnic representation. The strategic choice of positions of Romani activists and intellectuals is crucial for the future development of the movement. The paper concludes that a hybrid, in-between integrationist position is more viable than isolationism, victimhood and ethnic segregation.