ABSTRACT
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia participate in broader European debates andpolicy initiatives on social cohesion, social inclusion and the integration of immigrants and refugees. However, the focus in the Baltic region to date
has not been on addressing socio-economic inequality or the adaptation of
the small number of post-Soviet new arrivals. Rather, the Baltic states have
sought to overcome ethno-political and linguistic cleavages that are part of
particular, the emphasis
has been on the integration of the large post-war Russian-speaking settler populations and their descendants. This article examines Baltic efforts to promote social cohesion, efforts that
have been hampered by the Soviet legacy of unequal bilingualism and the resulting sense of cultural threat perceived by majorities, particularly in Estonia and Latvia. Less salient threat-perceptions have permitted Lithuania to opt for an early inclusion of minorities in the polity, a decision that has positively contributed to that country’s efforts to instil among minorities a sense of belonging to the Lithuanian state. Latvia and Estonia have been less successful at facilitating minorities’
sense of belonging and have largely focused on linguistic policy as a means of civic and cultural integration. While all three Baltic states have placed a disproportionate emphasis on language policy, the less demographically fraught context in Lithuania has meant that the linguistic measures have not been as controversial and have been decoupled from citizenship policy. In socio-economic terms, Estonia has had the best record in promoting
equality; however, it continues to struggle with more pronounced ethnic stratification than the other Baltic countries. In order to highlight the achievements and failures of social cohesion, the final section of the article will provide a review of the available survey data on the Baltic states to reflect popular opinions and the feelings of belonging among their residents. The review suggests that, more than twenty years after independence, there remain serious challenges ahead for Estonia and Latvia in fostering a sense of belonging among minorities.
