The Romani Movement in Romania: Institutionalization and (De)mobilization

Abstract

The chapter explores the ways in which Roma participate in public life in Romania, the EU country with the largest number of Roma,1 which is characterized by an apparently permissive minority participation system2 and visible advocacy organizations at the national and international level. In spite of these positive developments, Roma in Romania have not managed to send more than one representative to the Parliament or to achieve the kind of political influence that the Hungarian minority in Romania has achieved. This chapter seeks to assess the degree of institutionalization of Romani organizations and the way they operate and to analyse the causes for the weak mobilization of Roma.