American Latvians

American Latvians
Author: Ieva Zake
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2017-09-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351532561

This book analyzes the political experience of a small and unique American ethnic group-American Latvians. This community was constituted by post-World War II political refugees, who fled Communism and arrived in the United States seeking safety and protection. For decades, they insisted on preserving their ethnic identity and therefore did not call themselves Latvian Americans. Instead, they formed a distinctive double identity, that is, they blended into the American society economically and socially, but refused to become assimilated culturally and politically. The book offers a detailed look into the life of this community of political refugees, which also provides a novel perspective on the Cold War as experienced by certain ethnic groups. From a theoretical point of view, the book makes two major contributions. First, it reasserts the need to understand the generalized category of "white Americans" or "white ethnics" with more nuance and attention to differences, and, second, it strengthens the so-called realist claim that refugees are not like other immigrants. In order to achieve these goals, the book provides compelling descriptions and interpretations of the most politically relevant moments in the experience of American Latvians in the period between the 1950s and the 1990s. Concretely, the book deals with topics as the American Latvians' anti-communist activism, the impact of the hunt for Nazis on Latvian emigres, the Soviet Union's anti-emigre propaganda campaigns and the exiled Latvians' involvement in the politics of national liberation in Latvia. The author strives to reveal the complexity of the refugee experience in the United States during the Cold War and its aftermath. Since such aspects of the life of ethnic groups in the United States have not been sufficiently studied, this book makes a substantial contribution to a fuller understanding of American immigration history and sociology of ethnic groups. It is well written, expertly organized, and will be of interest to a large readership at many levels of academia.

Taming Nationalism? Political Community Building in the Post-Soviet Baltic States

Taming Nationalism? Political Community Building in the Post-Soviet Baltic States
Author: Dovile Budryte
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2017-05-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351896202

Revisiting the process of political community building in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, this book analyzes the roles that international actors have played in these processes and assesses the unintended consequences of this involvement. The study differs from other works on ethnic minorities and nationalism in the former Soviet Union by exploring the use of minority rights discourse and the salience of historical memory. Case studies examine the transformation of nationalism in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - all former Soviet republics - which have experienced Soviet nationalities policy first-hand. Primarily intended for an academic audience and practitioners interested in promoting tolerance in multi-ethnic societies, the book's historical narrative will also appeal to readers with a general interest in the former Soviet Union and post-Communism.

Historical Injustice and Democratic Transition in Eastern Asia and Northern Europe

Historical Injustice and Democratic Transition in Eastern Asia and Northern Europe
Author: Kenneth Christie
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2003-08-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135789681

The memory of past atrocity lingers like a ghost at the table of democracy. Injustices carried out in the past - from massacres and murder to repression and detention - embitter societies and distort their structures so that the process of establishing and running a democracy carries an extra burden. This volume examines societies at various stages of dealing with the memory of the past, from China, Mongolia, Indonesia and the Baltic States, where bitter memories of death and persecution still intrude, to Finland, where the civil war of 1918 has finally been accepted as a distant national tragedy.

Challenging America's Global Preeminence

Challenging America's Global Preeminence
Author: Thomas Ambrosio
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2017-07-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 135195279X

Examining the shifts in Russian foreign policy and their potential impact on the status and influence of the United States in the international system, this outstanding volume examines why the Kremlin initially sought an alliance with the United States and the internal and external reasons why such a policy was unsustainable. In particular, it looks for an explanation for the post-Cold War vacillations in Russian foreign policy. Russia made several decisions which were perceived domestically as being unacceptable capitulations to American interests. Consequently, a pro-Western foreign policy became incompatible with Russian political culture. The rapprochement following 9/11 was destined to be temporary due to the decision by the Bush administration to invade Iraq. Contributing to the fields of international relations and comparative foreign policy, this study provides a fresh approach to the balance/bandwagon issue and takes into account the global repercussions of the recent war in Iraq. It will be of particular value to specialists in Russian foreign policy, international relations theory, and US foreign policy.

Information Wars in the Baltic States

Information Wars in the Baltic States
Author: Janis Chakars
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2022-09-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 3030999874

This edited volume, featuring accomplished scholars, is about the information wars in the Baltic states, a battle that pits Russia against the West with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as sites of contention for great power politics. Chapters address responses from titular populations, local Russian speakers, national governments, activists, journalists, and NATO, as well as the impact of Russian foreign policy on media.

The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union

The Baltic States from the Soviet Union to the European Union
Author: Richard Mole
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2012-05-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 113632772X

The Baltic States are unique in being the only member-states of the EU to have fought to regain their sovereignty from the Soviet Union, only then to cede it to Brussels in certain key areas. Similarly, no member-states have had to struggle as hard as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to preserve their identity after fifty years of Soviet nationality policy in the face of sub-state and supra-state challenges. The post-communist experience of the Baltic States thus allows us to examine debates about identity as a source of political power; the conditioning and constraining influence of identity discourses on social, political and economic change; and the orientation and outcome of their external relations. In particular, the book examines the impact of Russian and Soviet control of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania; the Baltic independence movements of the late 1980s/early 1990s; the citizenship debates; relations with Russia vis-à-vis the withdrawal of the troops of the former Soviet Army; drawing of the shared boundary and the rights of Russian-speaking minorities as well as the efforts undertaken by the three Baltic States to rebuild themselves, modernise their economies, cope with the ensuing social changes and facilitate their accession to the EU and NATO.