ABSTRACT
The Romani population of eastern Europe is difficult to characterize. 1 Does it comprise a single trans-national minority, many different national minorities, or simply a multitude of atomized communities? Even the number of Roma in eastern Europe is a matter of considerable uncertainty. Most estimates fall somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5 million, with the highest concentrations in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Yugoslavia (Serbia-Montenegro), and the Czech Republic. 2 Yet, notwithstanding a past in the formerly communist countries that was distinguished primarily by their virtual invisibility, the Roma have been establishing a more stable collective identity and, with it, a stronger political voice in the post-communist period.
