Social closure and discriminatory practices related to the Roma minority in the Czech Republic through the perspective of national and European institutions

Abstract

While differentiating among notions of social exclusion, social closure and bridging social capital, the article analyses the evolution of cultural and social borders between the Czech majority on the one hand and the Roma minority on the other. Special attention has been paid to current legal practices concerning discrimination which have shifted the burden of proof in favor of ethnic minorities and have introduced cleavages between the processes of direct and indirect discrimination. It is explained that the unequal access to elementary education has been crucial in generating social exclusion of the minority. In relation to this, the landmark decision of the European Court of Human Rights is discussed, as it particularly highlights the importance of educational segregation of Roma people in Czech schools for children with learning disabilities.

Keywords

• Discrimination
• bonding and bridging social capital
• social opening
• Roma citizens
• social exclusion
• anomie