Bulgaria is home to up to one million people of the Muslim faith, making them the largest autochthonous Muslim population group in the European Union. However, they are not a homogenous group, but are divided up into ethnic Turks (hereafter referred to simply as Turks), Bulgarian–speaking Pomaks¹ and Roma.² All three groups only share a common Sunni Muslim faith; otherwise negative dispositions towards each other predominate. The Turks have a historical tradition of looking down on the Pomak people, while for their part, the Pomaks are often critical of the Turks for not practising their religious beliefs strictly enough....

The last 22 years after the restoration of independence of the Republic of Latvia have been a period of almost incessant change and reform. After 50 years of Soviet occupation the country has become a democratic, European state, a member of the European Union and NATO, a country where human rights and rights of minorities are protected and respected. However, the very swiftness and intensity of the change sometimes make it difficult to fully apprehend its particular extent, form and Economic changes affect the flows of migration; newly–established party democracy influences ethnic relations; the increasingly global media landscape influences...

For decades, armed conflicts as well as deadly rivalries among clans and displacement have been a reality for the entire population of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)¹ on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. ʺEnduring peace in Mindanao seen at lastʺ or other headlines to that end could be read and heard in national as well as international media at the end of 2012, after the forging of the so-called Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The FAB followed the 32^nd exploratory peace talks...

The parliamentary elections on 5 May 2013 did not fulfil the hopes of the opposition and their supporters for a change of government and new politics in Malaysia. The vehement commitment of civil society, the high turnout and country–wide gains for the opposition all provide clear evidence of the political awakening of the Malaysian people. The National Front has governed without interruption since Malaysia gained independence. For the first time, the National Front feared being voted out and was only narrowly able to ensure electoral victory with considerable losses. The increase of votes for the opposition is an indication...

Boko–Haram was relatively unknown as a violent or terrorist group before the 21^st century. Today, the mention of Nigeria in any social discourse directs focus to issues bordering on insecurity, poverty, ethno–religious clashes, corrupt enrichment, kidnapping, and particularly, Boko Haram terrorism. The over 300 ethnic groups that had enjoyed relative cordiality in the past, even after a few years of civil war, have suddenly become ʺstrange bed fellowsʺ due to the insurgence of the Boko Haram in the northern part of Nigeria. Foreigners now issue warnings to their nationals to either avoid trips to Nigeria completely, or do...