Ethnic groups in symbolic conflict: the "ethnicisation" of public space in Romania

Abstract

Although Romanian-Hungarian ethnic relations have been improved during the last two decades, they are still marked by recurrent crises that are rather symbolic. They range from the public use of Hungarian to the requirements for the Romanian citizenship and the special ties between the Hungarian diaspora and the kin state, but they encompass other issues, as the naming of localities in Transylvania, statues evoking national heroes and street names. Although generally overlooked, ethnic symbolism is a major obstacle in generating a neutral public space and a threat for a complete ethnic reconciliation in Transylvania for the decades to come.