Since the end of the Cold War, a great number of European states have undergone democratic transitions whereby the old authoritarian regime has been overthrown and replaced by a new liberal democracy. Historically, there has always been much discussion revolving around the events and significance of revolutions which act as the catalyst of a country’s democratization. Questions regarding the particularities and challenges of the transition, the inauguration and consolidation of democratic institutions, and the new form of government are very intriguing.  

In this lecture, our guests will discuss these transitional processes both in universal and specific terms, with a marked emphasis on the role ethnic minorities play in a country’s democratic transition. For this purpose, the Basque influence in the Spanish democratization efforts and the Hungarian community’s involvement in Romania’s transition will serve as examples and illustrate the different ways in which ethnic divisions can influence these processes. 

Dr Diego Muro is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St. Andrews. He previously held positions at King’s College London and Pompeu Fabra University. He has also been Max Weber postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute and Senior Fellow at the University of Oxford. His research interests include political violence, terrorism, nationalism, and secession. He is the author of Ethnicity and Violence (Routledge, 2008), The Politics and Memory of Democratic Transition (Routledge, 2011), ETA’s Terrorist Campaign (Routledge, 2017), When Does Terrorism Work? (Routledge, 2019), Strategies of Secession and Counter-Secession (ECPR, 2020), Oxford Handbook of Spanish Politics (OUP, 2020) and Contemporary Terrorism Studies (OUP, 2022).  

His partner in discussion will be Dr István Horváth, sociologist and professor of the Hungarian Sociology and Social Work Institute at Babeş-Bolyai University. He graduated in 1991 with a degree in philosophy and sociology. He was the first director of the Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities, founded in 2007. His general field of expertise is minority sociology; the subjects he teaches include minority sociology, communication and sociolinguistics, and international migration. 

The moderator of the discussion is Ede Márton, law student at Sapientia University, member of the MCC University Program. 

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