The complexities of minority rights in the European Union

In this study we argue that the 'opportunity structure' EU membership and conditionality provide helps to reconfigure the relationships between minority groups and states. EU membership and/or the membership process can mitigate the conflict between minorities and their respective states by putting direct pressure on the states to address ethnic demands. We argue that a minority group's characteristics will also determine that group's success in terms of securing and/or advancing its demands. This study presents one of the first systematic empirical tests of EU membership and minority rights. Results from a series of ordered logit and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses support our thesis.