The turbulent history of Eastern Europe in the 1990s (change in political regimes, Yugoslavian war, Kosovo problem) drew a lot of attention from the media, and researchers generally followed suit. Thus it became customary, both in the media and in academic discussions, to describe Eastern Europe as a “region in transition” politically, economically, and socially. Among all the transformative events happening in the East part of the old continent,

Throughout the past years, substantial discussions have dealt with the factors associated with ethnic conflicts such as institutional designs, group dynamics and the influence of external peacemakers. However, one area remains largely uncovered: this is how the domestic politics of a nation state shape minority issues from the same ethnicity in another country. In this paper we discuss the background and dynamics of the complex relationship between

In this paper I compare the suicide theories advanced by two 19th century thinkers, Masaryk and Durkheim, and test their conclusions using data from an East European country, Romania, before and after the 1989 fall of communism. Using data from various sources (Censuses, vital statistical publications, European databases), I follow two main directions in my discussion: a) differences and similarities between the two theories of suicide and b) what