Regions, Minorities and European Integration: A Case Study on the Italo-Slovene Border
Regions, Minorities and European Integration: A Case Study on the Italo-Slovene Border

Summary/Abstract: The study investigates the impact European integration has had on the mobilisation of the Slovenian ethnic minority and the Italian majority in the Italo-Slovene border region. It also addresses the changing interests and identities of the Slovenophone community living in Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), placing them within the wider regional context, the latter of which is also undergoing a redefi nition. In particular, it addresses the infl uence of EU enlargement and of EU structural policies on minority and majority mobilization and perceptions, as well as on the redefi nition of the regional interests since the 1990s. The research has focused on the following aspects: the socio-economic situation of the Slovenophone community living in FVG within the context of the regional and territorial development; the Slovenophone community’s political representation, mobilization and participation in public life; its identity representations, cultural recognition and perceptions of ‘Europe’. Contested numbers: the presence and the distribution of the Slovenophones in FVG The Historical context of Majority/minority relations Majority/minority relations in the political and institutional context Majority/minority relations in the context of territorial socio-economic development European integration and the domestic-regional context of change The border context The domestic context European integration and cross-border cooperation policy Changing opportunities and constraints for minorities Socio-economic condition Political representation Cultural mobilisation and needs European integration policies Local actors’ responses and perceptions European integration, ethnic-national identity, territory

• Details
• Contents