Browsing by Subject "Estonia"

Finland and Estonia form a cross-border region in Europe. Unlike other cross-border regions, which share a land border with their neighbor, Finland and Estonia are separated by the Gulf of Finland. The distance is close enough to facilitate regular travel by ferry on a weekly or monthly basis, but for Estonian immigrants living in Finland, daily commutes are unlikely. Given that Finland is the top migration destination for Estonians, the cross-border region of Estonia-Finland poses an interesting case study. In this thesis, the integration and transnationalism of Estonians living in Finland are studied through a spatial mobility lens. First, a theoretical framework is proposed to facilitate empirical research. The framework jointly examines integration and transnationalism by partitioning them into separate domains: social, structural, cultural, civic & political, identity, and spatial. The aim of the framework is to narrow the socio-spatial gap in migration literature, by focusing on the interwoven nature of the social and spatial perspectives. Using data from a comprehensive survey about Estonian immigrants living in Finland, the proposed theoretical framework is operationalized for multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). Three MCA analyses are performed: 1) social integration with host society (Finland), 2) social transnationalism with the sending society (Estonia), and 3) spatial transnationalism between the host society (Finland) and the sending society (Estonia). MCA results show that transnationalism and integration vary both across and within domains. MCA results are connected to one another using correlation analysis and general linear model (GLM) analyses. Correlation analysis and GLM demonstrate that for the study population, integration in the host society and transnationalism with the sending society are inversely associated. This inverse relationship carries over into the spatial domain and can be seen based on which country an immigrant does certain activities (e.g., visiting family, working, accessing healthcare, enjoying leisure time). Immigrants with strong social connections to the host society are more likely to do activities in Finland whereas immigrants with strong social connections to the sending society are more likely to do activities in Estonia. Some immigrants exhibit a multilocal mobility pattern, in which they do activities equally in both Estonia and Finland.

This research explores the way in which the Russian-speaking community of Narva, Estonia perceives their identity and sense of belongingness in relation to Estonia and Russia through self-reflection. Sixteen interviews with residents of Narva reveal perceptions of discrimination and integration and the surrounding discourses on inclusion and exclusion which define and influence how Russian-speaking Estonians balance their relationship with Russian and Estonian societies. The theoretical framework is composed of psychological and sociological theories which examine the individual and social aspects involved in the relationships the interviewees describe. The research underlines the value in having a deeper understanding of minority populations along critical borders to develop appropriate and effective national-level policies which affect the community, country of residence and country of origin of the minority community. This research aims to add to the existing literature focused on the study of minority communities along critical borders in general and Russian-speaking communities spread across the Post-Soviet Space in particular as well as describe the factors that influence their mobilization and transnationalism.

This thesis studies the discussion over the Estonian citizenship issue in the United Nations (UN) and in Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) from 1993 to 1997. The citizenship question refers to a case, where Estonia, according to its state-continuum paradigm, restored its pre-Soviet citizenship legislation. As a consequence, all people residing in its territory, besides people eligible for citizenship according to the pre-Soviet law, became stateless. The case of Estonian citizenship is part of the bigger paradigm change in minority questions in post-Cold War world. The thesis’ primary sources are gathered from public online archives of the aforementioned organisations. The sources consist of correspondences and other relevant documents related to the topic. The sources are analysed by small-state realism and strategic culture theories, which help to analyse the internal factors, i.e., the long-term ambition of politically allying with the West and the trauma of Soviet occupation, that had an effect Estonia’s use of language in diplomatic arenas. This framework is then combined with speech-act theory and new rhetoric’s audience centricity, which reveal the external factors that determined the factors that had to be considered in manifesting the national-strategy. Comparing the speech-acts from two separate forums reveals how a big state affects the use of language of a small-state. In the UN, Estonia mainly defends its citizenship policy against Russia’s torrent of human rights accusations related to mainly Russian speaking non-citizens in Estonia – even though the UN found no signs of arbitrary deprivation of citizenship nor human rights infringements. In the OSCE the lack of contestation results in mutually cooperative relationship aiming to integrate non-citizens via the framework provided by Estonia. In the end, Estonia is able to defend its citizenship policy on both fronts.

This master’s thesis argues that the public discussion in Estonia on the necessity of a national Russian-language TV channel was heavily securitized. Following broad debate involving politicians, experts and journalists, the channel ETV+ went on air in 2015, as a part of Estonian Public Broadcasting. This thesis studies statements by Estonian public figures relating to the TV channel through the securitization framework. First, the thesis explores securitization theory, developed by the Copenhagen School. The theory broadens the notion of security to non-military domains. The Copenhagen School argued that an issue becomes a matter of security if placed above every-day politics, once an actor convinces the audience of the existential threat posed to the referent object. Despite extensive criticism, securitization is applicable to the issue of national minorities. The thesis scrutinizes the social and political background of Russian-speakers in Estonia, with special attention devoted to the group’s media landscape. The thesis then pivots to the discussion over ETV+ and the arguments employed. Following either predominantly domestic (the “Bronze Soldier” riots) or global crises (the annexation of Crimea and the war in Eastern Ukraine), numerous concerns were raised about Estonia’s Russian-speaking community, especially its susceptibility to follow the Russian government-controlled media and therefore the community’s challenged loyalty to Estonia. Thus, Russian-speakers were perceived by in Estonian public debate as the group most vulnerable to Russian information warfare. In order to ensure unbiased media coverage, attempts were made to establish a public Russian-language channel in 2007-8. However, these efforts ran short. The state did not opt for a full-scale public Russian-language channel, but limited its support to several commissioned TV shows instead. In 2014-5, the revived debate over the Russian-language channel coincided with European (2014) and domestic (2015) elections, becoming a topic widely discussed by politicians and candidates. Both proponents and opponents of a TV channel referred to the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s hybrid warfare as reasons for or against the channel. Securizing remarks were common within debate, regardless of speaker’s ethnicity/language, political or professional affiliation. The local Russian-speaking community was poorly involved in the early stage of the debate, and its public figures were skeptical over the way and timing the new channel’s creation. Several politicians and journalists tried to convince the audience that the new channel was not a means of counter-propaganda. The creation of a channel was above partisan politics, as both the coalition and the opposition mainly were in favor, albeit with different justifications. This thesis concludes that the securitized debate itself is insufficient to evaluate the channel’s perception by the target audience and its subsequent performance. It therefore proposes several other avenues for prospective research.