The Journal Of Political Studies Volume I, No. 2, Jan. 2014 | Page 25

ETHNIC INTEGRATION IN EUROPE: THE EFFECTS OF EU SOFT-POWER,

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE, AND POWER-SHARING GOVERNANCE

Nyiri DuCharme*

*Nyiri DuCharme is a student at the University of Toronto's Department of Political Science.

1. European Council in Caopenhagen 1993

2. Katchanovski 2011

The fall of the Soviet Union, and communism in general, marked a transition point into a new phase of world order. In Central and Eastern Europe in particular, there is a fascinating amount of effort undertaken be the international community to further ethnic integration. The European Union (EU) is a supranational organization whose mandate has increasingly focused on sub-regional and continental integration, requiring the reconciliation and resoltuoon or prior tensions and conflicts in order to gain (coveted) membership.1 Many former Soviet or Yugoslav states currently experience economic hardship and political insecurity, and EU membership would offer a means to eradicate these endemic societal dilemmas.2

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THE JOURNAL OF POLITICAL STUDIES

VOL. 1

JANUARY 2014

NO. 2