identity, integration and estonia
TRANSCRIPT
Identity,IntegrationandEstonia
DavidEdwardsUniversityofGlasgow
Introduction
Identity,andthewayweunderstandourselves,affectsthesocietythatwebuildandcreate,whetherthatisaspartofaminorityormajoritypopulation.WhenweconsiderBrubaker’sclassictriadicnexus,identityunderpinseveryoneoftheactors,andtheirrelationshipwitheachother.Itimpactsintegrationbydictatingthemodeandoutcomesofintegrationattemptsineachpartoftheequation.
IntroductiontoTheoryofIdentityAlexanderWendt(1999)SocialTheoryofInternationalPolitics
“Apropertyofintentionalactorsthatgeneratesmotivationalandbehaviouraldispositions”
InternallyconstructeddescriptiveprocessreferringtotheSelf,existingindependentlyofexternalperceptions– SubjectiveIdentity
DirectlyinformstherolesthattheSelfassumesinrelationtoexternalactors–IntersubjectiveIdentity
BenedictAnderson(2006)ImaginedCommunitiesConstructivistapproachinwhichcommunitiesarebounded,delineatedandreified
institutionally andculturally,thenrationalisedafterwards
Iver Neumann(1999)UsesoftheOther:TheEastinEuropeanIdentityFormation“Analysesofself/othernexusesholdoutthepromiseofabetterunderstandingofwhotheactorsare,howtheywereconstituted,howtheymaintainthemselves,andunder
whichpre-conditionstheymaythrive”
TheoreticalFrameworkAnInterpretivist approachtoNationalIdentity,measuredonaSocialLevelanddefined
ExternallyusingKinship tobridge thegapbetween“Self”and“Other”
Collective Identities:“…incorporatingtheOtherintotheSelfinordertomergethemintoasingleidentity”(Wendt1999)
“Whatworldwidecommunitiesdo[states]imaginethemselvespartof?”(O’Tuathail,2006)
IdeasoftheSelfconstitutedonthesociallevelinformandconstrainelite-leveldiscoursewithinthebounds ofplausibility
MethodologyDirectly informed bytheInterpretivist epistemology
Creating ananalytical framework basedonobjectively extantfactorscanprivilege some factorswhich areinternally unimportantByinterviewing and analysing thespontaneous responses, onlythose factorsmost salient areemphasised
Nationally, butnon-demographically targetedone-to-one interviews involving astimulus exercise.
Thestimulus exercise involves participants sorting countries intogroups, regionsand families of countries
Relies onthesupposition thatGeographydoes not existobjectively; rather,thereisonly subjective, or“Imagined Geography”Knowledge of national and regional identity isinnate anddifficult todiscuss“cold”; thepurpose oftheexercise istherefore also toencouragediscussion
Theregions arethen rationalised, andthediscussion turns tothetargetcountry:Why isitplacedwhere itis?What does itshareincommon withthesecountries? Why isitnotplacedwith other countries initsneighbourhood?Howaretheydifferent?
Baltic States
Nordic-Baltic Institutional Engagement
“Eastern Europe”
“Europe but not quite”
“Northern Europe”
European Union Eurozone
Fenno-Ugria
Post-Soviet NATO
Results:Geopolitically
Smallandvulnerable,alongwithBalticStates“ThesearetheBalticRepublics.Theyareabitinano-man’slandbecausetheyarenotquiteNortherncountriesyetandtheyare
definitelynotRussiananymore.”- L“Ithinkthat[theBaltics]evenshouldworkmoretogetherbecauseseparatelywearenobodybuttogetherthereisalreadysomething”-
L,contextualised withanewsstoryinwhichMikheil SaakashviliclaimedtohavespokentoVladimirPutinin2008andconfirmedthat
theBalticStateswouldbeinvadednext,21/07/2015http://www.baltictimes.com/ex-
georgian_president_mikhail_saakashvili___there_is_no_way_the_kremlin_will_not_go_to_the_baltics_next_/ )
Results:Ethnically
Distinct,inheritorsofauniqueheritage–Mythofnationalorigins“Wehavesomegeneticmaterial.IreadthatactuallythepeoplewhocamefromtheUralmountains,theycametoEstoniafirstandthenmovednorthtoFinland,
andsoIthinkthatFinlandareourdescendents,orhowdoyousay,ourchildren”- J
NationalCharacter“Accuracy,cleanliness,that’samixtureofGermanandScandinavian”- M
“Hugeneedforpersonalspace whichisverycharacteristictoNordiccountries,andNorthernLatviatoo,butnottosouthern oreasternLatvia.SoIthinkthevalueofspaceisthething,youcanseethat,asaScandinaviancountry,peopledonotgetcloseto
eachother.”– M“InFinlandIthinkpeoplearejustascoldanddistant asinEstonia,morearrogant
maybe,butpeopleareprettymuchthesame.”– J“Finland,theyareneighbours…[wehave]alsoquitesimilarwayofthinking”- H
Results:Culturally
Conceptuallydifficulttodefine,butnevertheless important“OfcourseEstonianpeopleareverywellknownforsinging,andwehaveoursongfestival,sohas
Latvia”–H“MaybeLatviancultureisactuallysimilartoEstonianculture”- J
“WithFinland,Ithinkculturally”- H
HowisEstoniaRegionallyConstructedandUnderstood?• Linguistically
• Blurringthedistinction betweenAlterityandSelfhood
• [Whatdoyou think Finland andEstoniasharethat’sreallyimportant, thatmakes
thetwocountries veryclose?] “Ithink
it’s thelanguagemostly, haveyou seen
apictureofworld languagetrees?
There’s thebigone,andthere’s thistiny
onewithEstoniaandFinland pretty
much andsomeotherFinno-Ugric
languages,soIthinkwearekindof
special thatway.”- J
HowisEstoniaRegionallyConstructedandUnderstood?• Economically
• Transitological/developmental interpretationofeconomics• “[TheBalticsStates]don’thavesuchdevelopedeconomies, theyneedsometimetogettoCapitalism: theyaretrying,theyaremakinggreateffortstogetthere,butitwilltakesometimeyet.”– L
• Relativeeconomicsize• “Ifwespeakaboutlargecompaniesorthingslikethat,theywouldn’tbothertocomehereonlyforEstoniabecause it’stoosmall,sotheytaketheBaltic countriesasoneregion.”– L
• “Ofcourseeconomically itmakessensetohavethis“Baltic” productorwhatever”- H
HowisEstonianotUnderstood?
• Socio-EconomicModels• “BalticTiger”“BalticModel”and“NordicModel”wereallprivileged intheliterature (egBrowning2007,Lagerspetz 2003),butnotregardedasimportantsubjectively
• Verysignificantbecausedifferingsocio-economicmodelsareoftenusedasanimportantdifferentiatingfactorwheninterpretingEstonianattemptstoportraythemselvesasNordic(Browning2007,Lagerspetz 2003)
• “They[theBalticStates]arenotquitenortherncountriesbecause theyhaven’tdevelopedasmuch.Theydon’thavesuchdevelopedeconomies,andalsothepeople,thenationsthatlivethere,theyneedsometime togettoCapitalism.That’swhatImean.Theyaretrying,theyaremakinggreateffortstogetthere,butitwill takesometime.”L
• “[WhatdoyouthinkFinlandsharesincommonwiththesecountriesotherthantheclimate?]Adevelopedeconomy.”L
HowisEstoniaRegionallyConstructedandUnderstood?• Historically
• LinkstoSweden,DenmarkandIcelandemphasised, solidarityandlinked tonationalprideinindependence
• “IcelandwasthefirsttorecogniseEstoniaasaRepublic,DenmarkwehavetheDanishKing’sgardenhere [inTallinn],inSwedenwealsohadverybighistorybeingundertheruleoftheSwedes.”- H
• Re:BalticIdentity– Sharedvictimhoodofhistoricaltragedyofoccupationandannexation
HowisEstonianotUnderstood?
• Historically• LinkstoTeutonicKnightsignored• Soviettimesdonotcreateanyformofsolidarity towardsRussiaoranyotherPost-Sovietnation
• Howrelevant istheterm“Post-Soviet”toEstonians?
HowisEstoniaRegionallyConstructedandUnderstood?• Religiously
• Religioussimilarities disregarded&ignored,differencesinreligiouspractice&perceptionsofdegreesofobservancearedeployedasadifferentiatingfactor• ChallengesHuntingtonianinterpretationsofregional&nationalidentity
• “Iwouldsaythatwe[TheBalticStates]donotsomuchhaveincommonatall,becauseLithuaniaisaveryreligiouscountry…”H
• “…wearenotaPribaltika because,wellwehappenedtobesortofclose toeachotherbuttheyarepredominantly,wellLithuaniadefinitely,Latviaalso,Catholic countriesfirstofall…”M
Conclusions
RegardingRegionality asunderstood inEstonia
• Estonians seethemselves asbothNordic andBaltic,andoftenthereisnoconceptual difficulty inframingthemselves assuch.
• Incertainrespectseg sharedvictimhood, culturally, levelsof economic development, Estoniansarehappy toidentifywithLatviaandLithuania andconfirm thevalidity oftheconcept oftheBalticStates.
• However,inotherrespects, theyarekeentoplaydowntheimportanceofthe“BalticStates”eg.Religiously
• FarmoreimportantforEstoniansweretheirperceived culturalandhistoricallinks toFinland.• Intermsofa‘national character,’links toFinland weremostimportant, andtheveryconceptof‘national character’wasaverysignificant oneforEstonians, asevidencedbythefactthatitwasregularlyvolunteered asaregionally defining factor.
Integration,IdentityandEstonia
• MariaMälksoo (2013)“Collectiveidentifications arecontinuumsalongwhichseveralshadesofselfhoodandothernessarepossiblewithvaryingdegreesofdifference,ratherthancleardichotomies”
HybridityandPluralityofIdentity• Theresultsdemonstratethatitispossible toadoptmultiple identitiesandthattheseneednotchallengeourideasofwhoweare
• Itisalsopossible thatahybridityofidentitycanexistThequestion tobeanswerediswhichidentityassumesdominancewhenthetwocomeintoconflict– itisnotpossible toknowwhattheoutcomewillbebeforethestresspoint isreached
Identitycanbeapplied toinformusofthebestwaytobridge thegapbetweentheSelfandtheOther.
Language
LanguageisthemostimportantconstitutivefactorwhenrationalisingEstonianidentity
• Migrantsandintegrationalaspirantsneedlanguage tuitioninorder tointegrateeffectively
• Non-functionality inEstonianleadstoexclusion
Security
Ifintegrationissecuritised,itbecomessoandtheproblemdoesn’tresolve.However,thisisnotaninternallycreatedproblem,andiscontingentonexternalactors(whomaynotbewillingtode-securitisetheissue)
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