Can postcolonial theory help explain Latvian politics of integration? Reflections on contemporary Latvia as a postcolonial society

ABSTRACT

Democracy and civic society in Latvia are strongly affected by a multifaceted gap between the ethnic majority and minorities within contemporary Latvian society. The political elite are crucial actors in the politics of integration in Latvia. Postcolonial theories can help evaluate and explain the insufficiency of current integration policies in Latvia in respect to the participation of ethnic minorities in Latvia. Current integration challenges will be examined here based on two related issues of Latvian integration policies: (1) the process of naturalization and (2) the conflicting concepts of the twentieth-century Latvian history, especially the occupation in 1940. Both issues should be “revisited” using postcolonial explanatory potential in order to identify the causes of the long-lasting failure of integration policies in Latvia.     

The titularization of Latvian secondary schools: The historical legacy of Soviet policy implementation

Abstract

Few would deny that the Soviet occupation has had an effect on post-restoration policy making and implementation in Latvia. Indeed, many commentators of post-Soviet politics insist that we must come to terms with the Soviet to understand the post-Soviet. In our view, the effects of the Soviet legacy on the policy process are clearly apparent in post-restoration Latvia, specifically in the area of language education policy. This article argues that both Soviet and post-Soviet policy making and implementation can be characterized in three ways: duplicity, a Soviet ethos, and “professionalization”. In what follows, we first engage with the Soviet policy process in general and the 1958–59 education reforms specifically. Based on interviews with education professionals, teachers and parents, we then analyze Latvian education laws and their implementation in 2004, highlighting the legacy of Soviet governance.     

New Public Management in Latvia: Variations in openness to customer requests in public agencies

Abstract

The transformation of public administration in Latvia represents a commitment to continuous modernization. New Public Management (NPM) has under different names, such as “reinventing government” been proffered as an improvement of productivity and quality in relation to traditional public administration characterized by bureaucracy. In addition to adopting managerial systems from business, advocates of NPM include promises to alter the relationship between public services and the individual. Commitments to transparency and service declarations customarily follow in the wake of new forms of governance marked by privatization and contracting out of public services. This article reports on an empirical investigation of responsiveness to customer requests in a sample of Latvian public agencies at the national and local level. The survey included requests for basic information about the agency regarding the budget, expenditures, staffing, information services, and complaint procedures. In analyzing the findings, it is hypothesized that variation in service levels will correlate with agency type and the language spoken by the client.     

Playing the fool in the territory of memory: Jaan Kross' autobiographical fictions of the twentieth century

A study was conducted among young Latvians to test the effects of different conceptualizations of Latvian national identity on group beliefs and on attitudes towards Russians. It was hypothesized that exposure to inclusive discourse presenting Latvia as a multicultural society rather than an ethnic homeland would have a direct negative effect on feelings of vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority and helplessness with regard to the Latvian nation and a positive effect on attitudes towards Russians. The hypothesis was tested in one survey study conducted in Riga among ethnic Latvians (N?=?150).     

Citizenship status and social exclusion in Estonia and Latvia

Abstract

Findings from the Norbalt living conditions surveys in Estonia and Latvia are used to examine whether persons without Estonian and Latvian citizenship are at greater risk of social exclusion than citizens in these two countries. the level of integration into the labor market, participation in civil society and political life, degree of social isolation, and the level of economic resources among the two groups are analyzed. In Estonia non-citizens are more at risk of social exclusion compared to Estonian citizens, while in Latvia one finds no statistically significant difference between the groups. In both countries educational level is much more important than citizenship status in explaining social exclusion.     

Orientalism,otherness, and the Soviet empire: travelogues by Latvian writers of the Soviet period

ABSTRACT

The development of travel writing in a national literature is closely related to the geographical and mental cartography that characterizes that territory. This article investigates Latvian travelogues of the Soviet era as encounters with other nations within the Soviet empire in order to analyze the role of Latvian travel writings in shaping a feeling of belonging to the empire. In addition to fostering obedience and a sense of belonging to the Soviet empire during the first 15 oppressive years of the Soviet regime, Latvian travelogues of the later years represented the Soviet empire as a conflictual site of the destruction of traditional values and landscapes.     

Austerity versus pragmatism: a comparison of Latvian and Polish economic policies during the great recession and their consequences ten years later

ABSTRACT

Despite many initial similarities, Latvia and Poland represent two opposite extremes in terms of practical and theoretical approaches to the economic crisis. The Polish government applied a ‘pragmatic’ approach to fight the recession, based on expansionary fiscal policies and currency devaluation. Conversely, the Latvian administration opted for the Austerity and internal devaluation strategy. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to analyze, from the perspective of political economy, the strategies chosen for the economic crisis management and their effects in Latvia and Poland, in light of the main EU narratives about its causes and responses. The research contends that the economic performance of both countries during the crisis was due to their respective economic structures. On the one hand, Poland is a bigger, more diversified and industrialized economy, with fewer channels of vulnerability and could apply expansionary policies effectively. On the contrary, the economic model established in Latvia generated a high exposure to external shocks, in particular, with a double vulnerability in the banking sector. In this context, due to internal and external motives, the Latvian government decided to apply the austerity and internal devaluation strategy, worsening the economic decline and the subsequent recovery.     

Latvia's Architectural Heritage and its Protection 1880–1940

Abstract

The subject of this article is the protection of architectural monuments in present-day Latvia from the second half of the nineteenth century up to the year 1940. The intention here is to look at these activities as part of the process that shaped the national identity of the Baltic Germans, the Latvians, and of Latvia's Russians, each of whom were influential in economic, cultural and political issues in Latvia to varying degrees during the period. In accordance with the well-known historical background of the times, my account is divided into two parts, investigating how the modification of mentalities affected the preservation of historical buildings in the Baltic provinces from 1880 to 1914, and in the Republic of Latvia during the interwar period.     

Foreign Policy “On the Cheap”: Latvia’s Foreign Policy Experience from the Economic Crisis

This article assesses whether the reduction of budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia in 2008–2012 led to more modest foreign policy in the sense of both objectives and execution. After assessing four goals of Latvian foreign policy since 2008 – regional cooperation, bilateral development cooperation, facilitation of Latvia’s economic interests abroad, and relations with the Latvian diaspora – the authors conclude that the decrease in funding for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had little impact on Latvia’s ability to achieve foreign policy objectives.     

Break Out of Russia: Miķelis Valters and the National Issue in Early Latvian Socialism

This article deals with the political thought of Mi?elis Valters (1874–1968), whose early writings are considered to contain the first clearly articulated argument for independent and democratic Latvia. Until now, Valters's writings haven′t been analyzed in their own historical and intellectual context, being subjected to Marxist and nationalist ‘proleptic mythologies’ instead. However, such an analysis provides us with important insights about the intellectual origins of Latvian political nationalism. Valters's early argument for independent Latvia derives much from the legacy of Russian narodnichestvo and from German liberal legal theory, rather than from Austro-Marxism, as suggested by previous commentators.     

Estonia and Pain: Jaan Kross' The Czar's Madman

Summary

Questions around how best to improve health in Latvia will be central to the reorganization of the health care system. Health promotion aimed at changing personal behaviour that shortens the life span, such as excessive drinking, smoking and poor dietary habit, has not yet begun. Environmental problems have been made more visible by media publicity, but actual pollutants have diminished only marginally. The medical profession has gone through a prise de conscience but the tremendous shortages of equipment and medical drugs have led to a deterioration of medical care in a period of economic disorder.

The total expenses in Latvia for health care were for a long time the lowest of all Soviet republics claiming 3.6% of the national budget in 1989 compared to an average of 4.1% in the USSR as a whole. In the United States over 12% of the GNP is devoted to health.⁴⁷ Unfortunately, the comparative gaze of many Latvian doctors is to the United States. The level of their frustrations will no doubt rise considerably when they realize that, under circumstances of economic uncertainty and of competition with so many other needs, only marginal gains in financing will be possible.

Under these conditions great strides could be made in upgrading health and extending average life span by concerted, well-planned educational campaigns and public policy which focus on health promotion and hygiene. The number of male smokers, for example, has decreased dramatically in Canada in the last two decades in large measure as a result of active publicity. In Latvia, not enough attention as yet has been paid to the relatively inexpensive prophylactic strategies for health improvement. At the same time unrealistic expectations are placed on the health benefits derived from sophisticated equipment and modern pharmaceutical drugs. To be sure, attention needs to be paid to both prevention and treatment but the former is much less costly and in the context of present day Latvia should receive far more attention. Improvement in health could be the catalyst that nudges people into a much more positive outlook on life, work and the future in general.     

Latvian-Americans in the Post-Soviet era: Cultural factors on return migration in oral history interviews

Abstract

This article examines the changing exile identity and the lack of return migration of Latvian-Americans to Latvia after its independence in 1991, as revealed in life narratives of individuals and in oral history workshops. Focusing on the first and second generation of World War II refugees from Latvia, who emigrated to the USA around 1950 and formed still active communities-in-exile, the author presents the self-identity of community members during the exile period when contacts with the home country were limited, and examines the changing relationship of the diaspora community members to Latvia after its independence, and the cultural and interpersonal factors that have affected Latvian-American return migration to Latvia and hampered understanding between the two communities.     

Evaluating native and non-native Latvian

Abstract

Since the end of WWII, Latvians have lived with asymmetrical bilingualism. To what extend has this situation affected the language? Young native speakers of Latvian were presented with short samples of Latvian as produced by native speakers and by ethnic Russians. The Latvian listeners were extremely good at identifying speech samples produced by Latvians vs. Russians. They judged the pronunciation of Latvians from all age groups as acceptable but were not generous in evaluating accented Latvian.     

Latvian CDI: methodology,developmental trends,and cross-linguistic comparison

ABSTRACT

In this article, we report the results of a large-scale population study based on the Latvian adaptation of Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) – a parental report tool aimed at mapping the lexical and grammatical development of children under the age of three. Two CDI forms are discussed: CDI I: ‘Words and Gestures’ (8–16 months), and CDI II: ‘Words and Sentences’ (17–36 months). This article discusses the Internet-based methodology used for the data collection, reports the main developmental trends of the lexical development of Latvian children, and compares these trends to analogous data from American English, Norwegian, and Russian.     

Exploring Russian-Speaking Identity from Below: The Case of Latvia

Recent research on the acculturation strategies of Russian speakers in Latvia has demonstrated that there is a high level of support for integration (identifying with both Latvian and Russian cultures) compared to marginalization, separation, or assimilation. However, a number of researchers have also highlighted the negative impact of top-down narratives and discourses produced by the country's politicians and journalists. These discourses, it is argued, hamper the integration process by creating incompatible identity positions between ‘Russian-speakers’ and ‘Latvians’. Accordingly, this research turns to focus group interviews with Russian speakers in Latvia in order to uncover the nuances of their identity-forming processes, their relations with the respective Russian and Latvian states, and their acculturation strategies, which are commonly overlooked in top-down accounts. Based on the analysis of the qualitative data it will be argued that there is great potential for an integrated, yet culturally distinct Latvian-Russian identity in Latvia.     

Financialization,distribution, and macroeconomic regimes before and after the crisis: a post-Keynesian view on Denmark,Estonia, and Latvia

ABSTRACT

Since the early 1980s, financialization has become an increasingly important trend in developed capitalist countries, with different timing, speed, and intensities in different countries. Rising inequality has been a major feature of this trend. Shares of wages in national income have declined and personal income inequality has increased. Against this background unsustainable demand and growth regimes have developed that dominated the major economies before the crisis: the ‘debt-led private demand boom’ and the ‘export-led mercantilist’ regime. The article applies this post-Keynesian approach to the macroeconomics of finance-dominated capitalism of three Baltic Sea countries, Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia, both for the pre-crisis and the post-crisis period. First, the macroeconomics of finance-dominated capitalism are briefly reiterated. Second, the financialization-distribution nexus is examined for the three countries. Third, macroeconomic demand and growth regimes are analyzed, both before and after the crisis.     

Learning to laugh: satire and political thought in the Latvian ‘National Age’

ABSTRACT

Satiric publications are often recognized as an important part of the political communication of the nineteenth century. Their role, however, in the national ‘awakenings’ in central eastern Europe has been rarely addressed. This paper argues that satirical publications provide useful material for the research of the political ideology of early Latvian nationalism. The development of the ‘ethnic Other’ in the figure of the Bizmanis or ‘Plaitman,’ the invention of the ‘dumb minority,’ the Malenians, as well as the representation of imperial and provincial forces in animal fables illustrate the development of the political thinking of the emerging national movement.     

Bilingualism and the pronunciation of Latvian intonations

For 50 years after World War II, Latvia was incorporated into the former Soviet Union. Although in theory the use of regional languages was not discouraged, in practice knowledge of Russian was obligatory. Since restoration of the country’s independence in 1991, Latvian has again become the official language, and knowledge of Russian is widespread but optional. These political events have created a natural experiment in the possible effects of almost universal bilingualism on a language. In this study, we examine the phonetic characteristics of the Latvian syllable intonations across generations. Native speakers of Latvian, ranging from retirement age to teens, were recorded reading a word list, sentences, and a short narrative. We find that younger speakers who used Latvian only about half of the time showed fading in their pronunciation of the intonations.     

On Baltic and Hungarian prehistoric contacts

Abstract

The article assumes that in the beginning of development of a newly independent state the rationale of language legislation is closely related to nation-state building. Later, depending on minority-majority relations, ethnic containment may become more important. As democratization and globalization advance, the management of linguistic diversity might emerge as a principal issue. The article tests this general assumption on the language legislation of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1989–2001. It appears that while nation building, nation-state building and ethnic containment can be easily identified, the management of language diversity is not yet prominent in this legislation.     

PēTeris STUčka and the National Question

Pēteris Stu?ka, the main Latvian theorist of Marxism, Chairman of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, and an instigator of mass terror, repeatedly claimed to be against all nationalisms, even when “under a socialist label”. But when it came to his native Latvia, Stu?ka was not so quick to subscribe to Leninist internationalism in practice as he was in theory, often demonstrating conflicting views and attitudes, and at times behaving in a manner that would have made any Latvian nationalist proud.