Journal of East-European and Asian Studies
Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2009
Democracy, Human Rights and Ethnic Conflicts in Eastern Europe and Asia and in the Processes of European Integration and Globalization1
Prof. Dr. Zlatko Isakovic
The aim of this paper is to elaborate relationships between democracy, human rights and ethnic conflicts in the in Eastern Europe and Asia within the processes of European integration (which has one of its main sources in the conflict resolution attempt) and globalization. The first part is devoted to analysis of the assumed preventive and resolving impacts of democracy (and human rights respect) on the ethnic conflicts.
The second part elaborates the well known more or less negative impacts of the ethnic (and some other) conflicts (particularly violently escalated ones) on the democracy and respecting human rights in the mentioned area, i.e. region and the contexts of European integration and globalization.
The main predicted conclusion could be that if a system cannot be qualified as democratic one and respectful for human rights, appears the complex dilemma. Namely, the dilemma is what should come first: developing democracy (and respecting human rights) or eliminating ethnic conflicts and/or preventing their escalations/deescalating them. It will be also presented various theoretical and practical answers and solutions of this dilemma in the mentioned region/continent (and some other parts of the world).
According to definitions of democracy, it is a rule of majority and a procedure used for the non-violent elimination of political, ethnic, economic and other conflicts2 and discrepancies in interests, i.e. positions in society. The classic theory of democracy has elaborated the issue of the ethnicity in cursory manner and mostly periodically. Since the end of the Cold War the interest of numerous scholars has been focused on the security aspects of the ethnic conflicts (ethnic aspects of security in the world), and on political aspects of the development of democracy or transition toward democracy (i.e. its general pattern).
The formal and substantive aspects of the democracy itself seem to be equally important. Democracy in formal meaning of that word could be understood as a set of procedures, rules and institutions, such as rule of law, inclusive citizenship, separation of powers, elected power-holders, fair and free elections, freedom of expression and alternative sources of information, associational autonomy, and civilian control