Latvia’s History as a Nation-State

Edited and Introduced by David J. Smith, David J. Galbreath and Geoffrey Swain

Taking its cue from the 90th anniversary commemorations of November 2008, this work explores the relationship between state and nationhood during the three phases to date in Latvia’s existence as a territorial entity: the sovereign statehood of 1918-1940; the Soviet and Nazi occupations of 1940-1944 and the ensuing half-century within the USSR; and the post-1991 period, which has seen the restoration of independence on the basis of legal continuity from the inter-war period and - latterly - accession to the European Union. The aim in relation to all three eras is to go beyond the often essentialising contours of Cold War and post-Cold War debates and reveal the underlying complexities and ambiguities of political and social development.

Table of Contents

David J. Smith, David J. Galbreath, and Geoffrey Swain: From Recognition to Restoration: Latvia’s History as a Nation-State

Andrejs Plakans: Celebrating Origins: Reflections on Latvia’s Ninetieth Birthday

David J. Smith: Inter-war Multiculturalism Revisited: Cultural Autonomy in 1920s Latvia

Geoffrey Swain: Forgotten Voices: Reflections on Latvia during World War Two

Irēna Saleniece: The Deportation of March 25, 1949 in Latgale: Oral History Sources and Archival Documents

William D. Prigge: The Strange Death of Latvian National Communism

Veiko Spolitis: Latvia’s 90th Anniversary: between ‘Partocracy’ and a Misconstrued Model of Liberal Economy

Marina Germane: A Nation in the Making? The Social Integration Process in Latvia since 1991

Amy Bryzgel: The Bronze Man and the Homeless Man: Performance Art in Latvia from Perestroika to Post-Soviet

David J. Galbreath: Between a ‘Rock’ and a ‘Hard Place’: Baltic Foreign Policy after Enlargement

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First published: 21 September 2010