Amsterdam University Press
ENNL
Menu
Close

Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity

Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka
Title
Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity
Subtitle
Romani Political Activism in Argentina, Colombia and Spain
Author
Price
€ 134,00 excl. VAT
ISBN
9789633864494
Format
Hardback
Number of pages
316
Language
English
Publication date
Dimensions
15.2 x 22.9 cm
Series
CEU Critical Romani Studies Book Series
Categories
Discipline
Social and Political Sciences
Imprint
Also available as
eBook PDF - € 133,99
Table of Contents
Show Table of ContentsHide Table of Contents

Foreword
 Ethel Brooks
 Acknowledgments
 List of Abbreviations

Introduction. Personal Equation: Where did it All Start?
The dilemma
 The guiding questions and objectives of the book
 Romani voices in academia and the emergence of Romani positionality
 Europe vs. Latin America
 Structure of the book

Chapter 1. Defining Ethnic Mobilization – A Synergic Approach
 Ethnic mobilization – a conceptual puzzle
 Defining ethnic mobilization
 Understanding Romani ethnic mobilization

Chapter 2. Political Opportunities – Understanding the Broader Context
Setting the scene: Ethnic mobilization in Europe and Latin America
Roma as political subjects
Roma in Europe and Latin America: Comparable cases?

Chapter 3. Romani Ethnic Mobilization in a Comparative Perspective. Looking into the Case Study Countries
Argentina, Colombia and Spain: majority contexts, minority struggles
Reconstructing the genealogy of Romani presence
In search of windows of political opportunity
Anno Domini 2017 – Status of Roma

Chapter 4. Who is Doing the Mobilizing? Anatomy of Romani Ethnic Mobilization through the Prism of the Actors
Anatomy of a movement – birth and growth of Romani actors Argentina
Panorama of Romani mobilizing structures: an overview
Leadership and composition patterns
Multiple voices: Between fragmentation and consolidation
Rationale for ethnic mobilization

Chapter 5. Mobilizing Frames? Identity and Interests Intertwined
Identity and interests – and potential of collective agency
Romani identity frames
Romani frames of collective interest
Mobilizing frames? Frame alignment and frame correspondence vis-à-vis Romani constituency

Chapter 6. Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity for Collective Action
Targets of mobilization – why is this important?
Targeting structures of power – external upward mobilization
Building support and seeking allies – external sideways mobilization
Internal mobilization – community as a resource?
Conclusion

Conclusions. Mobilizing for Change? Limits and Potential of Romani Ethnic Mobilization
Roma issue as a global issue – importance of the trans-continental perspective
Contributions to Romani Studies

Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka

Mobilizing Romani Ethnicity

Romani Political Activism in Argentina, Colombia and Spain

The Roma issue is generally treated as a European matter. Indeed, the Roma are the largest European minority—their presence outside of Europe is a result of various waves of migration over the past four hundred years. Likewise, the stereotypes associated with the Roma—the problematized, stigmatized status of a “Gypsy” as well as the historical and contemporary manifestations of antigypsyism—are also of European origin. This book claims, however, that the perception of Roma being strictly a European issue is flawed, and that re-connecting the Roma issue globally represents an important learning experience and an added value.

The book offers a critical exploration of Romani political activism in Colombia and Argentina, and compares it to that in Spain, narrated from the intimate perspective of Romani actors themselves. By outlining parallel lineages of Romani activism in three countries and on two continents, the author arrives at broad conclusions regarding the nature of ethnic mobilization. Mirga-Kruszelnicka proposes a new synergetic conceptualization of this multidirectional concept as an interplay between political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and frames of identity.

Contributing to the vivid debate about the relationship between the researcher and the researched, the book also includes an original discussion of the positionality of scholars of Romani background.

Author

Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka

Dr. Anna Mirga-Kruszelnicka is an anthropologist and a Romani activist. She has conducted extensive research with Romani communities in multiple European and Latin American countries, with a particular focus on Romani political mobilization, ethnopolitics and identity construction. Since 2018, she serves as the deputy director of the European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture (ERIAC). 

Related titles