When : Comparing Ethnic Parties in Western and Eastern Europe

In this paper, by comparing the emergence, institutionalization and persistence of ethnic parties in Easten Europe (Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Romania) with Western European cases (Belgium and Spain) I show that the political mobilization of ethnic minorities in these democracies is the result of a strategic interaction between ethnic political leaders and individual ethnic members subject to existing organizational constraints and the existence of tangible and material selective incentives.