ABSTRACT
This chapter presents issues related to national minorities in the Baltic European region, particularly changes in the numbers and structure of these minorities and issues related to state policy towards minorities. The potential role of the Russian minority in the internal destabilisation processes of the Baltic states is highlighted, taking into account the concept of hyper-securitisation.
The issue of national minorities is closely linked to the security of small states, and their governments’ policies towards national minorities are becoming a crucial part of national security policy. Small Baltic states are particularly sensitive to the presence of national minorities, and their legislation and policies are highly nationalistic. Lithuania demonstrates a high sensitivity to the presence of the Polish minority, while Latvia and Estonia to the presence of the Russian minority. The pursuit of a monoethnic state is a primary goal. The Baltic states’ authorities correctly perceive national minorities as a tool for political manipulation. In this context, the anti-minority regulations of the Baltic states clash with democratic values, but are a manifestation of the profound political realism of the states in the shatter belt.
