Suchergebnisse

The existence and the effective utilization of opportunity structures by the Gagauz and Pridnestrovian elites between 1989 and 1991 enabled them to successfully mobilize wide parts of the population, take control of the administration and build parallel state structures out of the control of both Chişinău and Moscow. The Pridnestrovian elites were more successful in the effective utilization of such opportunity structures than their Gagauz counterparts. Access to vast economic and political resources, political unity, and strong organizational skills combined with a creative interpretation of the right to self-determination enabled the former to pursue their secession policy with greater efficiency.

This article explores why the Arabs chose to keep a common language, while the Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Montenegrins chose not to. The study argues that the main reason for this can be found in the ideological constrains resulting out of the salience and interaction between different religious and ethnic group building projects in former Yugoslavia and the Arab states. Political elites in both regions favored the ethnic and religious category to different extents. Language planning reflected and implemented the respective ideological imperatives resulting out of these processes. This led to different approaches in defining the common language and its subsequent standardization.