Introduction Why Communicative Empowerment of Minorities? Overview Methodology Demographic Data about the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe Part I: Identities and Policies 1. Minority Identities Minority Identity and Culture Whose Identity? Identity: Essence or Construct? Identity: an End, or a Means? 2. The Complexity of Minority Issues Cultural Differences Group Solidarity Social and Political Factors 3.Political Power and Minority Policies Socialist Internationalism Consociational Democracy The Politics of Presence Identity Relations and Political Power   Part II: Identities and Communicative Power Introduction II 4. Communicative Power Public Legitimization within the Framework of the Habermasian Model of the Public Sphere The Plurality of the Public Sphere Genuine and Fictitious Legitimacy 5.Legitimacy and Public Deliberation What Is "Public Deliberation"? Differentia Specifica of Deliberative Decision-Making The Unforced Force of the Better Argument Procedure as a Safeguard against the Manipulation of Public Communication 6.The Internet as a Medium for Public Deliberation How Does "Communicative Power" Work? The Public Sphere and the Internet Public Deliberation and the Internet 7.Is Intercultural Public Deliberation Possible? The Challenges of Communication across Cultural Barriers Solutions Proposed 8.

The Communicative Empowerment of Minority Groups Ethical-Political Discourses as Instances of Public Deliberation Ethical-Political Discourses as Enclave Deliberations The Dual Identity of Minority Group Members Conclusion.