The Struggle for Citizenship and Legitimacy: A Case-Study of the Roma in Romania

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Austerity and populism throughout Europe undermine the progress made for the inclusion and social mobility of minorities, leaving many people - including the Roma - on the margins of society, negotiating their citizenship and legitimacy. In Romania, these struggles are amplified by the history of Roma oppression. Thus, questions arise about the making of Roma 'citizenship' by the Romanian state, but also about the reaction of Roma youth to such otions. I address these questions in this PhD project, focusing on Roma youth civic identity and action. This intersectional and interdisciplinary project links questions of racialised marginality with class-stratification, gender and sexuality. The methodology - ethnography - facilitates building relations that can sustain a participatory approach. I will spend up to a year in Bucharest, exploring Roma citizenship and activism with youth activists. The existing literature does not address Roma citizenship or activism, rather promoting discourses of victimhood and deficit. This project enters conversations in the field of Romani Studies toward more collaborative and critical approaches to researching Roma marginalisation, filling the literature gap regarding Roma youth citizenship and activism. Ultimately, this project explores the possibilities for youth civic engagement and re-shaping of dominant notions of citizenship in such difficult times, joining efforts to ameliorate Roma marginality in Romania and the European Union.