Transnational Political Identity Construction : An Analysis of Yenish Recognition Struggles Across Borders

Sammanfattning

Being recognised by one's self-constructed identity is crucial for all actors in international relations. The Yenish, an ethnic minority residing across multiple Western European Countries, started to formally organise itself transnationally in the last century; however, it remains unrecognised as an ethnic minority in most countries. This thesis explores how the Yenish construct their identity as a transnational political actor and how claims of recognition are presented and legitimised on various national levels. To do so, this thesis employs a discourse analysis investigating official documents produced by the Yenish and governments, as well as semi-structured interviews with representatives of the Yenish community from Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The findings of this thesis contribute to a wider understanding of transnationalism, adding to previous migration-related theorisations of the term. The thesis's findings indicate that the transnational political identity of the Yenish is constructed through knowledge production by Yenish organisations about Yenish culture and history, and through events where Yenish people from across countries come together. The transnational identity of the Yenish and claims of recognition are supported by the established recognition of the Yenish as a national minority in Switzerland and formulated through the organisation of Yenish representatives into a Yenish European council.