It ain’t over when it’s over: the adoption and sustainability of minority protection rules in new EU member states

Abstract:
This paper conducts a multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of the formal adoption and sustainability of minority protection rules in four new EU member states (Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia) over a twelve-year period including pre- and post-accession phases (1997-2008) and five minority protection related issue areas (non-discrimination, language use, education, citizenship, integration of Roma) based on four conditions (external incentives, government position, veto players, size of minorities), in order to investigate under which external and domestic conditions minority protection and non-discrimination measures are adopted, maintained or revoked in new member states before and after accession to the EU.