Contents

Editorial                                                                                                                                     

FEDERALISM

Guy Héraud

       Federalism                                                                                                                             

According to the author, federalism brings a message of peace and happiness to humankind and it cannot be taken for an utopia —  at least, not in the pejorative sens of the term — as its implementation into the life of societies and peoples depends entirely on us, as much as the progress of the world’s moral, economical and political unity also depends on us.

Daniel J. Elazar

       From Statism to Federalism — A Paradigm Shift                                                                  

Since the end of World War II and most particularly since the late 1970s, the world has been in the midst of a paradigm shift from a world of states modeled after the idea of the nation-state developed in the seventeenth century to a world of diminished state sovereignty and increasingly constitutionalized interstate linkages of a federal character. In this new paradigm, existing states will not disappear; rather they will be overlaid by a variety of federal arrangements of a confederal character that will tie them ever closer to each other.

Paul Philippi

       Federalism and Liberty                                                                                                         

Presenting the basic lines of the Transylvanian history, its heritage of tolerance and pluralism, the author points out to Romania’s constant refusal — through its successive Constitutions — to accept and integrate the province’s  federalist heritage together with the province itself.

Robert Agranoff

       Federal Evolution in Spain                                                                                                  

The gradual development of federal arrangements in Spain through its regional governments is examined within five perspectives on “postmodern” federalism: differentiation of the Spanish unitary state through the autonomous communities; evolutionary compacting through negotiated agreements, creating “self-rule plus shared rule”; complementary building of democratic institutions and territorial distribution of power; federalism’s contribution to accomodating and managing center-periphery conflicts; and the use of federal arrangements in building the Spanish welfare state. While the Spanish system to date represents “incomplete federation”,  the noncentralized estado de las autonomias exemplifies the increasing federal character of states on the international scene.

DIALOGUE

       Forum: From “Monoculture” to Interculturality                                                                      

The Forum had interculturality as its central theme, aproached from three closely linked standpoints: Interculturality as a reinterpretation of the majority-minority relation, From “monoculture” to interculturality, and Interculturality in the regional context. The debate here focuses on the shift to interculturality, where the term is contrasted to multiculturality. The latter implies only proximity of cultures, while the former implies their dialogue. The instances analysed, ranging from regional situations to worldwide configuration, disclose interculturality to be rather a project than an accomplishment.

CASE STUDY

Brigitte Mihok

       The Roma Situation in Muresh County and  Elaborating

       Corresponding Sensitizing Strategies                                                                                   

The report contains a general pattern of arguments and criteria that should be considered in planning, implementing, and supervising educational,cultural, and health activities for the Roma. It is necessary that the analyses and conceptions designed be conducted according to the village or town district in question, and that they be  the basis for elaborating action strategies fit for the respective socio-economical and cultural backgrounds, thus being directed towards a specific target-group.

DOCUMENT

       The Romanian-Hungarian Basic Treaty                                                                               

       The Romanian-Ukrainean Basic Treaty                                                                              

Renate Weber

       Three Ethnic Minorities and Their Demands: the Romanians of Ukraine, the Hungarians of Romania, the Gagauzians of Moldavia                                                                                                

Apart from being a comparative study of the demands themselves, the contribution analyses the differences arising in their interpretation according to

whether one is their petitioner or their would-be-granter.

FACES OF EUROPE

Fred Urban

       The Concept of Nation in France                                                                                        

“For all to be equal, all have to speak the same language” has been France’s guiding principle through history. It is only now, while comparing herself to the other EU states, that France has started reluctantly to accept compromise from this principle, though not clearly stated in a legal form.

ECUMENICA

Bryan Ronald Wilson

       The Hostility towards New Religious Movements                                                                

The author argues that in the contemporary world, characterized by rapid changes of all institutions, religion only is assigned an unchanging role and, hence, all levels of society  converge in manifesting intolerance and hostility  towards any sects and new religious movements.

ALTERA PARS

Claude Karnoouh

       Logos without Ethos.

       Interculturalism and Multiculturalism in Transylvania                                                             

Analysing the present state of interculturalism and multiculturalism in Transylvania, the author concludes that, in the postcomunist coutries — like everywhere else in the Western world —, late modernity displays multiculturality and interculturality as its ideology while actually marching steadily towards globalization or, to say it bluntly, world uniformization.

REVIEWS

Minorities                                                                                                                               

Romania and Its Minorities