Paradise Lost or Gained?: TNC Establishment and Interethnic/Interracial Relations in a Central European Small Town

The paper discusses the dynamics of local ethnic, racial and social relations in a traditionally multi-ethnic Central European small town that has been heavily influenced by the establishment of a transnational company. The town in question is the traditionally triethnic (Slovak, Hungarian, Roma) Galanta in Slovakia, where the Korean transnational company Samsung since some then years back has established its presence. The paper combines theories on the everyday workings of ethnicity and race with theories on how transnational labour migration impact on interethnic relations. The focus is on categorization practices and discursive frames. In particular, the authors address to what extent engrained ethnic and racial stereotypes are maintained among the local population and to what extent they are challenged and reconstructed.