Minority Politics in Central and Eastern Europe

This research considers the integration of Romani communities and currently focuses on two areas. The first looks at the specific case of Romani integration in the Czech Republic. Based on extensive fieldwork, this work seeks to understand how the conflation of poverty and marginalisation with Romani ethnic identities impacts on the development of effective strategies for integration, particularly with regard to education and employment policies. This research has been published in journals and edited volumes and was the basis of the chapter on the Czech Republic in the 2011 report Measures to Promote the Situation of Roma EU Citizens in the EU commissioned by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.

The second area of research explores the EU response to the challenges of Romani migration and integration. EU institutions have traditionally left the management of minority politics to member states. However, the securitisation of issues such as social exclusion and migration from ‘new’ to ‘old’ member states has led to significant debate on the necessity or usefulness of a specific EU-Roma policy. This raises a range of questions relating to (1) the Europeanisation of minority rights policies, (2) framing Romani rights in the context of EU citizenship rights and (3) the applicability of traditional minority integration frameworks to accommodate Roma.

Dr Cashman has published her research in a range of international journals and edited volumes. She is also an active member of two collaborative research networks Assessing Accession  and Romanis in Europe .

For Dr Laura Cashman's research publications, see: 
http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/view/creators/Cashman=3AL=2E=3A=3A.html