This diploma thesis deals with the political participation of national minorities in the Czech Republic. The main aim of this thesis is to find out what the possibilities of national minorities are to enter the political process in order to articulate their specific minority interests and how effective these possibilities are from their perspective. The emphasis is placed on ethnic political parties, minority interest groups, advisory bodies such as the Government Council for National Minorities and committees for national minorities at all political levels. At the same time, these selected minority institutions and bodies are also examined at the international level, which makes it possible to gain an overview of the attitudes of some states to national minority policy and their comparison, or even inspiration for the Czech Republic. The analysis was carried out on a group of five national minorities: German, Polish, Roma, Slovak and Vietnamese. The author also tried to find out how these selected national minorities are politically active, what factors influence their political participation and what is the interest in the issue of national minorities among the majority political parties. The author chose a qualitative research method for the research project and the technique of...

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Arts Institute of Czech Studies Historical Sciences - Czech History Zdenko M a r š á l e k ABSTRACT OF THE PhD THESIS "Česká", nebo "československá" armáda? Národnostní složení československých vojenských jednotek v zahraničí v letech 1939-1945 "Czech", or "Czechoslovak" Army? The ethnic and nationality composition of the Czechoslovak military units-in-exile in 1939-1945 tutor: prof. PhDr. Jan Kuklík, CSc. (†) PhDr. Jan Gebhart, DrSc. 2014 ABSTRACT General background One of the most important phenomena, which is important especially in current and future Europe, is the problem of the personal self-identification of individuals in the multinational and multicultural environment of higher (e.g., political) units, in particular national self- identification. For research about the problems connected with this phenomenon, the sample of the Czechoslovak units-in-exile during the World War II is an almost ideal historical model. The Czechoslovak units were, by far, the most diverse armed forces among the all exile-armies; yet this issue has not attracted the attention it deserves, neither in terms of different nationalities, nor from the perspective of ethnic issues in the units as a whole. The issue of the nationality in the resistance-in-exile was determined by the needs...

This master's diploma thesis discusses the mechanisms by which the Slovak public television talent show Zem spieva (2017) creates the concept of folklore perfor- mance as a means of building and expressing national identity. This thesis also discusses the mechanisms by which the show creates a platform for negotiating the criteria of high standard folklore performance which should present a consistent reconstruction of tradition. These two effects of the show Zem spieva are in this thesis perceived as conceptually conflicting: on the one hand, there are essentialist ideas about the genetic predisposition of members of the Slovak nation for folklore performance; on the other hand, there are doctrines focused on the reconstruction of the tradition on the folklore stage. These doctrines are followed by an expert jury composed of prominent members of the folklore community. This thesis argues that the concept of performing folklore on stage perceived as an intellectual problem of the reconstruction of tradition is in the show subversive and therefore gradually replaced by emotionally and patriotically defined criteria of high quality folklore performance. This preferred measure preserves cultural cohesion in terms of sa- tisfying the needs of the mass audience. Following the conflict of the mentioned...

The objective of the thesis is to describe and evaluate services of public libraries aimed at immigrants and national minorities in the Czech Republic and programs to support them. The first part defines the principal terms related to libraries and minorities. An overview of legislation follows, focused on the same topic. The third part introduces five most common national minorities and immigrant groups living in the Czech Republic. The fourth chapter describes all regional libraries in the Czech Republic, two of municipal libraries near the national border where the percentage of minorities is higher and one specialized library with a focus on their foreign- language equipment, events, meetings or exhibitions about or for national minorities or immigrants, their cooperation with various organizations, employees' interest in minorities and a possibility of registration of foreigners at libraries. Following part is about programs and projects supporting foreigners in Czech libraries. The sixth chapter describes selected organizations working in the migration field. Next is an own survey which was made in 32 public libraries in the Czech Republic. Chapter next to last describes a situation abroad, in Sweden with a focus on their Immigrant Institute. The last part is an evaluation of data about the...

1 Abstract Thesis title: The legal status of minorities in Russia This work is an overview of the legal status of minorities in Russia and their mutual interaction with the dominant nation in individual historical stages. Its subject is to explore changes in the status of minorities in political, cultural, linguistic, religious and fundamental human rights. This is put in the historical context and the influence of the state's minority policy on state integrity is examined, including the assessment of the adequacy of the state-legal arrangement for the needs of national minorities. The space is also devoted to the administrative division of the country, which plays an important role in Russian terms. The pros and cons of period legislation are evaluated. Its impact on the practical life of minorities is illustrated by examples of specific minorities. The work is structured chronologically, presenting the history of Russia primarily in terms of milestones relevant to national minorities. The first part devoted to the Russian Empire monitors its gradual expansion and differences in the legal status of the conquered nations. Approximately from the middle of the 19th century, the Russian legislation has been directed towards unification, resp. Rusification of the whole empire, while the causes and effects of...

The paper analyzes the role and place of the Ainu in Japanese society at the end of XX – beginning of XXI century. The author explores Japan’s policy towards ethnic minorities and а development of the Ainu people's national movement. The author also investigates changes in living conditions of Japan’s indigenous people in recent decades, defines a current state of the Ainu language and culture. / Работа посвящена анализу места и роли айнов в японском обществе в конце XX – начале XXI вв. Автор раскрывает особенности политики Японии в отношении этнических меньшинств, определяет динамику развития национального движения айнов, а также прослеживает изменения условий жизни коренного народа Японии в последние десятилетия и дает оценку современному состоянию его культуры и языка.

I juli 2019 försågs förskolan med en ny läroplan och med den ett utökat minoritetsuppdrag, vilket i korthet innebär att förskolan ska bidra till att skydda och främja de nationella minoriteternas språk och kulturer. Tidigare forskning pekar på att läroplansändringar om de nationella minoriteterna haft liten inverkan på ämnesinnehållet inom utbildningssystemet och att det finns svårigheter kopplade till att implementera kultur- och språkrelaterade policyer i förskolan. Syftet med föreliggande studie är därför att genom förskolepersonals förståelser lyfta fram dilemmatiska aspekter i förskolans minoritetsuppdrag. En tonvikt har placerats vid den nationella minoriteten romer, vilket delvis motiveras genom en webbenkät som distribuerats i studiens startskede. Av de fem nationella minoriteterna hade färst respondenter berört romer i förskolans utbildning. För en fördjupad förståelse och för att generera mer data hölls två fokusgruppsintervjuer med totalt sex informanter och en kompletterande individuell intervju med ytterligare en informant. Eftersom studien undersökt ett känsligt ämne genomsyras den av reflexivitet och etiska överväganden. Den data som genererats har analyserats och diskuterats med hjälp av Michael Billigs begreppsapparat ideologiska dilemman, med fokus på sunt förnuft och motstridigheter. Det sunda förnuftet säger att förskolans minoritetsuppdrag är viktigt för att bevara ett kulturarv, revitalisera minoritetsspråken och motverka fördomar. Motstridigheterna består i att arbetet med Sveriges nationella minoriteter och minoritetsspråk villkoras på grund av prioriteringar och rangordningar, resonemanget ”inget minoritetsbarn – inget minoritetsuppdrag”, en rädsla för att göra fel och en strävan att undvika konflikter. Genom en analytisk diskussion påträffas fyra dilemmatiska aspekter i skärningspunkterna mellan 1) ideologier som förskolan förväntas förmedla och ideologier om förskolan som institution, 2) en strävan att revitalisera minoritetsspråken och att det aktualiseras först när ett minoritetsspråkigt barn finns i barngruppen, 3) en strävan att motverka fördomar och en rädsla för att i stället befästa dem och 4) att ge barn förutsättningar att utveckla en kulturell identitet och minoritetsspråket och att upprätthålla tillitsfulla relationer och samarbeten med vårdnadshavare genom att låta bli när de så önskar.Studien bidrar till kunskap om dilemmatiska aspekter i förskolans minoritetsuppdrag och gör dem på så sätt möjliga att adressera. / In July 2019, the preschool was provided a new curriculum and with it an extended minority assignment. In short, this assignment means that the preschool shall protect and promote the languages and cultures of the Swedish national minorities. Previous research indicates that curriculum changes regarding the national minorities generally have little impact on the subject content within the education system and that there are difficulties linked to implementing policies about language and culture in preschool. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to highlight dilemmatic aspects in the preschool's minority assignment through preschool personnel's understandings. An emphasis is placed on the national minority Roma, which is partly motivated by a web survey that was distributed in the initial stages of the study. Out of the five national minorities, the fewest respondents had referenced Roma people in the preschool’s education. For a deeper understanding, and to generate more data, two focus group interviews with a total of six informants and a supplementary individual interview with yet another informant were held. Since a sensitive subject is being examined, the study is permeated by reflexivity and ethical considerations. The data generated has been analyzed and discussed using Michael Billig's theoretical approach to ideological dilemmas, with a focus on common sense and contrary themes. What passes as common sense is that the preschool's minority assignment is important to preserve a cultural heritage, revitalize the minority languages and counter prejudice. The contrary themes regard conditions for working with the Swedish national minorities and minority languages, such as priorities and rankings, the reasoning "no minority child – no minority assignment", a fear of making mistakes, and avoiding conflicts. Through an analytical discussion, four dilemmatic aspects are found in the intersections between 1) ideologies that the preschool is expected to convey and ideologies about the preschool as an institution, 2) an effort to revitalize the minority languages and that this is only actualized when a minority language speaking child is present in the child group, 3) an effort to counter prejudices and a fear of instead reinforcing them and 4) supporting children’s need to develop a cultural identity and their minority language and to maintain trusting relationships and collaborations with children’s guardians by not doing so, if that is their wish. This study contributes to highlighting dilemmatic aspects in the preschool's minority assignments and is thereby making them possible to address.

I evaluate Will Kymlicka’s theory of multiculturalism in Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights, and how it accounts for Indigenous nations in Canada. I ask whether any failures of multiculturalism can be attributed to either the normative or descriptive claims of his theory. I find points of failure in both claims, depending on the theme in question. Chapter 1 introduces the project and outlines subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 presents an account of Kymlicka’s multiculturalism (including why I chose Kymlicka’s framework as my focus) and the guiding questions of the thesis. Chapter 3 presents major legislation, policy, and jurisprudence in Canada concerning Indigenous nations and multiculturalism in practice. Chapter 4 examines four major claims or themes found in Chapter 2 against the material in Chapter 3: citizenship in Indigenous nations; the characterization of treaties; exercising group-differentiated rights, and; the Canadian state’s exercise of authority over Indigenous nations.

In the year 1896 Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the Magyar settlement in the Carpathian Basin. The preparations started in the early 80's of 19th century. Originally they planned to celebrate in 1895, since it was decided that the conquest had happened in 895. But there was not enough time to prepare, so they postponed the festivities. Even though there was widespread development in industry and culture at the end of 19th century, the situation in Hungary was very complicated. The main problem was the relationship of Hungarians within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, changes in that society, and the situation of national minorities and the working-class. During the celebrations of the millennial anniversary, these discussed topics were overlooked while everybody was occupied with the festivities. Hungarians tried to present their glorious past, their country's successful economy, industry, and culture to prove that Hungary was the foremost nation in the Carpathian Basin. The Hungarian parliament passed a law to celebrate the millennium that ordered, for example, the building of monuments around Hungary and the founding of The Museum of Fine Arts and 400 elementary schools. Throughout the country there were opening ceremonies, festivities, meetings, processions, parades, and unveilings...

<p>The primary objective of this research was to identify and<br />analyse the challenges faced by ethnic minority students<br />while studying and building an academic career in the higher<br />education system of Serbia. The secondary objective was to<br />analyse the unconscious and conscious gender biases towards<br />ethnic minority women, when building their academic careers<br />and in reaching decision-making position in academia. The<br />tertiary objective of was to raise awareness about the<br />increased demand for human resources in the technical fields<br />and that therefore more women should be steered towards the<br />studying engineering.<br />The research was conducted based on 2192 filled in<br />questionnaires and 45 semi-structured interviews. The<br />research results showed that language, intersecting with<br />gender, ethnicity and class result in a new inequality concept.<br />It was shown that women are under-represented in technical<br />fields, which has its roots in gender stereotypes. Finally, it<br />was shown that women are less motivated to reach higher<br />positions in the Serbian higher education system than men.<br />The author proposes a set of policy recommendations for<br />solving/mitigating the identified challenges, e.g. deconstruction<br />of gender stereotypes via improved teaching<br />aids in elementary and high schools, optimised Serbian<br />language teaching to eliminate the language difficulty faced<br />at the start of their higher education; as well as the founding<br />of an ethnic minority research centre, which would research<br />the challenges faced by ethnic minority communities.</p> / <p>Primarni cilj istraživanja je identifikacija i i analiza prepreka<br />u sistemu visokog obrazovanja tokom studiranja i izgradnje<br />karijere u akademskoj zajednici žena iz nacionalnih zajednica<br />sa posebnim osvrtom na žene iz mađarske nacionalne<br />zajednice. Sekundarni cilj je analiza nesvesne i svesne rodne<br />pristrasnosti prema ženama etničkih manjina u toku izgradnje<br />akademske karijere i pri dosezanju visokih pozicija unutar<br />akademije. Tercijarni cilj istraživanja je podizanje svesti o<br />tome, kako je potražnja za ljudskim resursima na trži&scaron;tu rada<br />u oblasti tehničkih nauka značajna i da je stoga potrebno<br />usmeriti veći broj žena ka tim oblastima. Istraživanje je<br />sprovedeno pomoću 2192 popunjena upitnika i 45 polustrukturirana<br />intervjua. Istraživanjem je utvrđeno da jezik,<br />koji je u intersekciji sa rodom, nacionalno&scaron;ću i klasom,<br />rezultira novim konceptom nejednakosti. Takođe je dokazano<br />da su žene nedovoljno zastupljene u tehničkim oblastima, &scaron;to<br />je najvećim delom moguće pripisati rodnim stereotipima.<br />Konačno, utvrđeno je da su žene manje motivisane da<br />dosegnu visoke pozicije od mu&scaron;karaca u sistemu visokog<br />&scaron;kolstva. Autorka predlaže skup mera za re&scaron;avanje i/ili<br />ublažavanje identifikovanih izazova, npr. dekonstrukcija<br />rodnih stereotipa pomoću unapređenih nastavnih materijala u<br />osnovnim i srednjim &scaron;kolama, prilađen program učenja<br />srpskog jezika za učenike iz etničkih manjina sa ciljem<br />izbegavanja jezičke barijere na početku studija; odnosno<br />osnivanje centra za istraživanje statusa i izazova zajednica<br />etničkih manjina.</p>