Who Speaks for Roma?

Aidan McGarry is Lecturer in Politics at the School of Applied Social Science, University of Brighton. His research focuses on the political representation of ethnic minorities. He has contributed several articles to top journals, including Nationalities Paper and Journal of Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe. He also has co-authored several book chapters and reports.

• List of Figures and Tables; Acknowledgements; Acronyms; Glossary; Introduction; Chapter 1: Historical Overview of Roma in Europe; Chapter 2: Political Participation and Representation of Roma; Chapter 3: Ambivalent Discourse: Rights-Based Theories on Minorities; Chapter 4: Who Speaks for Roma? Organising Structures of Representation in Romania; Chapter 5: Self-Government and Interest Representation in Hungary: A Wrong Step in the Right Direction?; Chapter 6: Roma Representation in the Transnational Political Context; Chapter 7: Conclusion; References; Index.

Aidan McGarry does not claim to speak for Roma, but his book is a thoughtful and well-informed reflection on those who do. The importance of the subject can hardly be overestimated. Many Roma in Europe face tremendous problems of poverty, discrimination and social exclusion. Issues of political mobilization, participation and representation are a key part of that puzzle. The analysis on offer here is a welcome contribution to an emerging body of research that examines activism for the Roma against the background of broader theoretical and political debates about diversity, social equality, and minority rights. --Peter Vermeersch (University of Leuven) is the author of The Romani Movement: Minority Politics and Ethnic Mobilization in Contemporary Central Europe.