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The “Russian World” and the Securitization of Identity Boundaries in Latvia

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Borders in the Baltic Sea Region

Abstract

Western European, Eastern European and Scandinavian cultures converge in the Baltic, making this region a rich subject for the study of borders and boundaries that encompass diffuse identities, policies of inclusion and exclusion, and competing normative ideological orders. Within this context, Latvia offers an excellent illustration of these dynamics given demographics and the corresponding tension between Latvia’s stated commitment to European norms of democracy and human rights, and its policies that have resulted in an exclusionary polity. The inconsistency between European Union (EU) norms, which are based upon an integrative model that is essentially post-national, and Latvia’s nation-building policy, which is designed to (re)construct a Latvian nation-state, has exacerbated regional tensions that have persisted despite more than two decades of Latvian independence and full integration into the European order.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Arcadia University, Glenside, PA, USA

    Angela Kachuyevski

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  1. Angela Kachuyevski
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tartu , Tartu, Estonia

    Andrey Makarychev

  2. Kazan Federal University , Kazan, Russia

    Alexandra Yatsyk

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Kachuyevski, A. (2017). The “Russian World” and the Securitization of Identity Boundaries in Latvia. In: Makarychev, A., Yatsyk, A. (eds) Borders in the Baltic Sea Region. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-352-00014-6_10

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