European Social Integration and the Roma

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"Theoretically nuanced and empirically rich, this new study by sociologist Dr. Cerasela Voiculescu offers a unique and fresh insight on how power, in neoliberal times, is impacting on different Roma communities in Romania. Based on field observations, community work and academic reflection over nearly fifteen years, the project deftly deconstructs "the Roma" as both political projection and as non-static actors with strength, agency and their own power in challenging and disrupting gadzhe (non-Roma) institutions and the state. This is a remarkable book that strikes new ground in both Romani studies and critical accounts of neoliberalism and power."

-Colin Clark, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, University of the West of Scotland, UK

"Against the omnipresent liberal governmentalist language of THE Roma, exclusion, ethnicity, and human rights, Cerasela Voiculescu combines Eric Wolf and Michel Foucault in a comparativist historical ethnography of relational power and counter power within and around the evolving social landscapes of two Roma communities in Romania. The result is theoretically astute and empirically insightful."

-Don Kalb, Professor of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University, Hungary

"European Social Integration and the Roma combines rich historical ethnography and theoretical insights on power to study the production of Roma as a problematic population requiring specific intervention by state and transnational actors. Voiculescu shows that Roma populations are diverse and produced by complex relations to power over time. The homogenising picture of poor Roma requiring specific types of intervention to assist their 'integration' is critiqued by this complex and engaging work that will raise a number of questions on how 'Roma' are produced as 'problems' requiring intervention."

-Prem Kumar Rajaram, Academic Director of CEU's Roma Graduate Preparation Program (RGPP) and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Central European University, Hungary

"In Cera's nuanced and deeply engaged study she has created a powerful framework for understanding the position of Roma in Europe. She ranges across history, anthropology, politics and sociology to produce a profound critique of space and power. The book is a major contribution to the field."

-Dr Angus Bancroft, Senior Lecturer, Sociology, University of Edinburgh, UK

"This book is a Foucauldian analysis of power in the interpersonal relations between Romanian local state officials and Roma. It is based on extensive and illuminating interviews with Roma and local officials, and fieldwork observation in municipal and social service offices, and through concise and clear theoretical discussions, links the data from these to the extensive literature which attempts a systematization of Foucauldian theory."

-Thomas Acton (2017): 'European social integration and the Roma: questioning neo-liberal governmentality', Ethnic and Racial Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2017.1341993

"The book is highly recommended to social and political researchers and theorists as it makes available crucial academic and civic contributions by deconstructing the subalternity of one of the most racialised population in Europe, critically questioning neoliberal governmentality, and raising timely, fundamental questions in relation to knowledge, the political subject, the governance of politically unrepresented populations and transnational neoliberalism."

-Cosmin Radu (2017): 'European Social Integration and the Roma: Questioning Neoliberal Governmentality', Critical Sociology, DOI: 10.1177/0896920517744162

"This book represents a sophisticated discussion of the relations of power on micro- and macro levels that define Roma-non-Roma relations historically and today. Voiculescu's book represents a counter-account to the neoliberal politics of identification, integration and inclusion of 'vulnerable groups', and instead presents the highly diverse Roma populations as agents of power in their own right. I recommend this book to all interested in Roma issues."

-Research Professor Ada I. Engebrigtsen, NOVA/OsloMet - Oslo Metropolotitan University, (former Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences), Norway