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National identity and Estonian-Russian relations: a longitudinal study of elite and mass discourses
Relations between Russia and the Baltic states, as well as the position of the Russian-speaking communities in the Baltics, have been an important testing ground for constructivist approaches in the social sciences. It has been demonstrated that identity politics has influenced both the patterns of interaction between states and the complexity of societal integration and differentiation. While existing studies focus on the national identity discourses of elites, this project creates comprehensive interpretivist datasets focusing on wider societal discourses. It is part of a global network Making Identity Count, whose scope initially included only great powers. By adding Estonian data and expanding the already existing database on Russia, the project team re-assesses identity landscape in Estonia, based on a series of comparative analyses of identity discourses over time. It identifies the circumstances under which popular views of national identity can impact politics, which can be used in policy planning and risk assessment.
Keywords: national identity, Estonia, Russia, discourse analysis, popular discourses
This project is supported by the Estonian Research Council grant (PRG 1052)