Living on the Edge: The East European Roma in Postcommunist Politics and Societies

Abstract

You watch your pocket. Gypsies. They don't work, only steal, and make children so the government will give them money every timeNadine Gordimer"I am no racist," he said. "But some Gypsies you would have to shoot."Jozef Pacai, mayor of the Slovak village of MedzevThe east European communist regimes, in contrast to their frequently repeated claims, not only did not weed out nationalism in their domains but in some cases attempted to manipulate and exploit it for their own purposes. Nonetheless, since the collapse of communism the region has experienced a robust resurgence of at times violent ethnic conflicts and racism explained by the simultaneous occurrence of several factors accompanying the postcommunist transition process