Introduction

In the Yugoslav successor states, one can observe a range of different formal settings for dealing with ethnic diversity, all of them characterized by high legal standards and continuous improvements during recent years. The range of models for dealing with ethnic diversity in the region includes constitutionally secured minority rights, preservation of minority rights through political representation and cultural autonomy, consociational arrangements and power-sharing institutions in multinational states and decentralization as a form of dealing with ethnic difference, only to name a few. In effect there are few tools for accomodating ethnic diversity that have not been tried in the countries of the Western Balkans.