Evolution of minority rights in Europe: the case of western thrace Muslim Turkish minority

Abstract

This thesis explores evolution of minority rights in the European context: minority stipulations and enforcement mechanisms of international organizations, the European institutions? minority protection mechanisms, minority governance in five western democracies (Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, United Kingdom, and Spain) and the case of Western Thrace Muslim Turkish minority of Greece. The unit of analysis is autochtonous or historical minorities. The study therefore seeks to explore the nature and applicability of these rights and their role in the protection of minorities. Accordingly, the major institutions have been scrutinized: the League of Nations, the United Nations, the European Institutions of Council of Europe, Organization and Security in Europe, the European Union and their related legislation concerning minorities. Implementation in five European democracies has been mentioned in order to offer a comparative perspective. The bulk of the study is about the Muslim Turkish minority of Greece; elaborated within a historical, legal and political perspective; within the framework of kin-state, host-state relations, the internal structure of the minority and their interactions in a social environment where perception of identities has largely been shaped by historical animosities.