International Protection of Minorities

Mednarodno varstvo manjšin

Course credits:

9.00 ECTS / 45 (25 hours of lectures, 0 hours of exercises, 20 hours of seminars, 0 hours other forms of work)

Course holder:

prof. dr. Petra Roter

Type:

Required

Language:

English

Semester:

Second semester

Study degree

2. level

Course execution:

• Postgraduate Programme of International Relations

Prerequisits:

Students are allowed to participate in the course provided that they have completed the enrolment procedure. The course focus on one aspect of the international protection of human rights (minority rights) so a solid knowledge about international protection of human rights is expected.

Objectives and competences

The purpose of the course is to help students understand the minority problematique and to know international governance of this issue-area in all its complexity, and to know as well as understand the development of Slovenia as a nation-state and of national minorities and its national minority politics. The goals of the course are: to enable students to know the attitude toward minorities and their significance in international relations in the contemporary international community, to strengthen their knowledge of international relations in the field of diversity management at the multilateral and bilateral levels, to further their knowledge about the international protection of human rights in the issue-area of minority protection (minority rights), to train students to be able to conduct research in the field of minority protection, including by making them understand the significance of terms and various approaches to studying the minority problematique, to enable students to analyse and formulate policies on minority protection and diversity management in general, to train students to be able to apply their knowledge about international organisations and international law (principles of international law) to the analysis and understanding of the minority problematique in international relations, to prepare students for research of practice of minority protection from the perspective of the existing norms on minority rights, which trains them for work in international institutions such as the council of Europe or the OSCE. Competences, acquired by students: ability to search, analyse and evaluate primary sources on minority protection, understanding of the minority problematique in relation to the views of minorities, the nation (ethnic and civic) and the normative framework for diversity management, research and written presentation of research results, written and oral skills and argumentation, development of appropriate politics on minorities and diversity management.

Content (Syllabus outline)

The course addresses the issue of minorities and minority protection within the discipline of International Relations. The course thus analyses various international approaches to addressing minority-related issues, i.e. various international regimes for minority protection. The course is composed of the following substantive parts: 1. Understanding of minorities, types of minorities and international attempts to define minorities as objects of minority protection. 2. Analysis of attitudes towards minorities in the contemporary international community: assessment of the so-called 'minority problem' and its application in practice, in the context of nation-building and state-formation processes. 3. A historical analysis of diversity management in the contemporary international community: from the 'protection' of religious minorities to national minority protection. 4. Substance of the three international regimes on diversity management in the 20th century, and their comparison. 5. A detailed analysis of the principles, norms and decision-making mechanisms of the present multi-layered international regime for the protection of national minorities. 6. Understanding of the significance for and impact on states and various minorities of the international regime for minority protection. 7. Analysis of the Slovenian national question from the perspective of minorities: the Slovenian nation, Slovenian national minorities, Slovenia as a kin-state, Slovenia's kin-minorities abroad.

Intended learning outcomes:

Students will: understand minority-related terminology and approaches to define minorities, as well as the significance of such an understanding for the development of norms and politics on minority protection, knows various past approaches to solving the so-called ‘minority problem’, and is able to evaluate their effectiveness, knows and understands the substance of the present multi-layered regime for the protection of national minorities, is able to evaluate practice on diversity management based on the existing norms, is able to search for ways and means to manage minority-related issues, in line with both the general principles of international law and specific expectations of actors in an individual context.

Learning and teaching methods:

Lectures, research seminars, research, discussions, subject to possibilities a study trip.

Assessment

Exam (50 %), research with in-class discussions (50 %).

Obligatory literature

Additional literature