Minorities in the Balkans in the era of globalisation: the case of the Turks in Western Thrace

Abstract

This thesis explores the history of the Turkish minority of Western Thrace from 1923 until the present time. By presenting the life conditions and the problems that the minority has faced in Greece it shows what an important positive change in Greek policy towards the minority has taken place since 1991. The thesis presents the reasons of change, the way the change took place, and the new policies that were followed. The effects of globalization and of the international protection of minorities that intensified, especially after the end of the Cold War, the pressure exercised over Greece by the European Union and other international organizations, the efforts of minority politicians and of their media to present their problems, and the cultivation of a European identity among the members of the minority are among the basic factors that contributed to the change Through the presentation of the current situation, the reader is afforded a look into the basic problems of the minority in the present day and the discussions inside the minority. Finally, the thesis stresses the fact that the way Greece changed its policy towards its minority can work as a model for other countries, future members of the European Union (like Turkey) that try as well to improve the life conditions of their minorities.