Horizontal Redistribution and Roma Inclusion in the Western Balkans: The “Exclusion Amid Inclusion” Dilemma

Abstract

Many Roma across Europe continue to face a range of social problems, including ethnic discrimination, marginalisation, residential segregation, socio‐economic inequality, and extremist violence. The lack of effective policies to address these issues has reinforced a climate of hatred against Roma, further isolating many of them. It has also affected their position in the political arena, where Roma remain severely underrepresented. In this article, we analyse the situation of Roma in three Western Balkan countries and the policies developed to support them. We discuss the institutional structures for managing and improving the socio‐economic conditions of identity‐based communities and examine the position of the Roma within these institutional contexts. We also explore attitudes towards Roma‐related policies and how Roma citizens themselves in these three countries perceive their position.

Keywords

• horizontal redistribution
• identity‐based communities
• inclusion dilemma
• roma
• western balkans