Study: Minority self-governments boost development for Hungary's Gypsies

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

In post-socialist Eastern Europe, tension has often run high between national and ethnic minority groups. In an effort to avoid these conflicts, Hungary passed Act 77, the Law on National and Ethnic Minorities, in 1993. This law, unique within the region, allows ethnic and national minority groups to establish their own form of self-governance parallel to the Hungarian government. Minority self-governments act as advocates for their minority constituencies and also may take on a variety of developmental roles.

Kai A. Schafft, left, doctoral candidate in rural sociology, and Professor David Brown look at research on ethnic-minority self-governance in Brown's Warren Hall office. Nicola Kountoupes/University Photography

Cornell rural sociologists, studying the impact of Act 77, found that despite the still widespread discrimination against Gypsies, many Gypsy minority self-governments have been able to make substantial contributions to local development efforts. The Cornell study found that many Gypsy local minority self-governments forged important political links with Hungarian governmental and non-governmental institutions, all the while initiating and developing a wide-range of social, agricultural-support, educational and media programs.

"There is evidence that these projects in many cases benefit not only the Roma (Gypsies), but other ethnic Hungarians as well -- strengthening intra-community social ties and networks as they improve local socio-economic conditions," according to the report, "Social Capital and Grassroots Development: The Case of Roma Self-Governance in Hungary," in the journal Social Problems, (May 2000), authored by Kai A. Schafft, a doctoral candidate in rural sociology, and David Brown, professor of rural sociology in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Historically, the Gypsies have been the most consistently disenfranchised group within the region," said Schafft. "When the Hungarian government passed Act 77, it really represented an unprecedented opportunity for minority political participation. And this is particularly the case for Hungary's Gypsy population."

With the assistance of rural sociologists from St. Istvan University in Godollo, Hungary, Schafft and Brown surveyed 420 known Gypsy local minority self-governments (LMSGs) in the spring of 1998. About 57 percent of the LMSGs responded. Nearly 80 percent of the LMSGs reported providing social welfare, and that about 60 percent provided cultural program support, educational and agricultural program support. Nearly 45 percent of LMSGs organized local media (print and electronic) programming, and about 42 percent reported involvement in a variety of local economic development initiatives.

However, the study also found that the capacity of these governments varied widely, and many Gypsy self-government leaders described antagonistic relations with municipal governments, insufficient financial and material support, and an inability to meaningfully address the often overwhelming social problems affecting their constituencies.

To a small degree adverse economic conditions, such as high levels of local unemployment, influenced the capacity of minority self-governments. However, the researchers found that local social relationships and institutional networks significantly affected Gypsy minority government effectiveness. Those minority governments which were most active and had experienced the greatest success in their operations, tended to be located in places where there were strong, cohesive minority communities with good ties to the ethnic Hungarian community within the municipality. Institutional connections to organizations outside the locality also increased Gypsy LMSG capacity.

Although Schafft and Brown note that minority self-governance offers considerable promise for the construction of a more pluralistic, democratic society, they caution that because of widespread unemployment and other social problems resulting from decades of prejudice and institutional discrimination against Gypsies, the Hungarian government needs to ensure that both minority and municipal government leaders are provided with adequate resources and training so that they can effectively work together in the long run.