The Roma People. A global identity without territory

Abstract

The Nation States have reinforced the connection between identity and territory demarcated by borders. Over the last years, the Roma community, defined as a people that do not have nor want a territory, have started a process that is transforming the relationships between territory and identity both in the European Union as well as in the social theory. The European parliament gathered and approved by unanimity the main conclusion of INCLUD-ED's background project, the RTD Project WORKALÓ, from the V Framework Programme of Research: the recognition of the Roma People. This research provided the analysis of the Roma transterritorial identity, one of the best real example as a model of the globalization. The impact of this new conception not only has influenced politics but also the social sciences, in which authors such as Beck, Habermas or Touraine have criticized the methodological nationalism to analyze current social phenomena.