Internalization of European minority norms : the case of Greece in the European Union

Abstract

Coexistence of different ethnicities and cultural groups within the boundaries of Europe have come to be the subject matter of serious arguments of minority-related debates in the Continent to date, some of which have been translated into a series of institutional arrangements. These arrangements, relatively insufficiently embraced in earlier times, gave way to a broader yet compact arrangement by the European Union which is open to signature also by non-member states. However, due to the lack of value-free practices regarding minorities, certain “legally” European states such as Greece seem to prefer to adhere to nationhood-oriented policies whereby one state, one culture, one people is taken to be the norm. Given this mindset, the minorities in Greece are seen by the Greek state as supposed to be outside the borders, letting alone their peripheral locations. Although at a time when even non-member states strive to partake in the related affairs of the Union, close examination reveals that due to the strong and intrinsic existence of Greek nationalism encompassing its specific ingredients of religion, language, the imported belief that Greece sets a model civilization before all other nations, and similar Western intellect influence, Greece has come to deny the existence of its minority groups which this thesis seeks to examine in four parts. Based on such framework, it is seen with further elaboration by this thesis that within an unlimited time span, Greek minority policies and those of Europe display a discordant image, though the country is declared “European” by both Europe and itself.