Just as Unjust? Transitional Justice Policies in Old vs. New EU Member States

• In Event: Responses to Human Rights Abuses: Democracies, Marginalized Groups, and Justice

Abstract

Eastern European states often argue that the EU maintains a double standard when it comes to the issue of minority rights, because, upon joining the EU, Eastern European countries were required to meet stricter standards for minority protections than most Western European countries, which joined the EU before these standards were developed. In this paper, I examine how these divergent minority rights requirements are reflected the way in which EU states address the legacies of state-sponsored crimes that were committed against minorities prior to EU accession. In comparing the timing and extent of Western and Eastern European EU member states’ transitional justice policies, I separate perception from reality and assess the extent to which the EU’s official minority protection standards and changing international norms are reflected in the way in which countries address or ignore historical crimes against minorities.

Author

• Claire Greenstein, University of Alabama, Birmingham