The thesis focuses on the transition and the EU integration process of the Baltic States since their independence in the beginning of the 1990s until they joined the EU in 2004. Two less detailed parts introduce Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from general and historical point of view and analyze their regional cooperation.

The work analyses macroeconomic development of the Baltic States from the beginning of the 1990s until today and their position in the European Union evaluated on the basis of nominal and real convergence indicators. A significant part of the text is dedicated to the current economic crisis and to its impacts on the Baltic region. In this context, possible solutions and perspectives for future progress are suggested.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the court and church in Livonia worked together to remain the sole authority in the country. The Teutonic knights waged crusades in the Baltic countries during the 13th century, formed the country Livonia and ended up staying. In a country where an ethnic German minority held most of the positions of power it became important to legitimize the reason for it being so. This study will focus on the court case of Thiess from 1691, a man charged with being a werewolf and who refused to acknowledge the German ideology. To highlight the power structure, I turned to Louis Althusser and Marxism which theories included the repressive state apparatus and ideological state apparatuses. With those theories in mind, the use of text analysis and literature on the history of Livonia, the power struggle has become clearer. My findings show the importance of making an example of Thiess due to his influence of the peasants.

This diploma thesis analyses the phenomenon of the Russian information warfare targeting the Baltic states - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In five chapters the thesis initially theoretically examines phenomenon of the information warfare itself, specifically its typical components and advantages because of which the Russian Federation uses it. After that, the thesis estimates conceptual preconditions and incentives in the Baltic region due to which Russia implements the information warfare specifically in this region. The information warfare in this sense is understood as the psychological pressure onto the society of Baltics, hence, as one of the tools to enforce the interests and goals of the Kremlin's official foreign policy, because the initiators of such information campaigns are the Russian state media or their proxies. Third, in the empirical part, based the conceptually determined factors and particular events related to them, thesis thoroughly deals with discourses and narratives spread through the Russian and pro-Russian media operating in the Baltic states. More specifically, the analysis conducts research of the content of these narratives, their rhetoric, specific features, context and possible impacts onto the society in the Baltics. The goal of this thesis is to analyse thoroughly...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This paper seeks to answer the theoretical question: Do international organizations (IOs) bring peace and stability to international relations? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) serves as a case study which can help answer this query. Initially, it is important to explore what realist and liberal scholars broadly argue on the matter of IOs, peace and stability. NATO as an organization is then examined, followed by the case study of the role it played in the Ukraine crisis. Many international organizations exist today which deal with a wide variety of issues. The League of Nations, though it failed to fulfill its mandate of maintaining worldwide peace, can be considered the first modern international organization and served as the model for its successor, the United Nations. Realists—who argue that states are the principal actor in international relations (IR) and that they are self-interested and mainly concerned with security and power—look upon IOs skeptically. Liberals, though, believe in cooperation among states and promote the proliferation of international organizations, extolling their virtues. The heated debate between these two ideologies is evident in the case of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) eastward expansion. NATO was originally designed to curb the Soviet threat and protect Western Europe from communist expansion. When the Cold War ended and NATO’s original mandate had therefore expired, liberals championed the continued existence and expansion of the organization. Realists, on the other hand, warned of negative repercussions, as they foresaw that eastward expansion of the alliance would be perceived as a threat by Russia. The 2014 Ukraine crisis provides a good case study which can help determine whether liberals or realists were right. Liberals have claimed that Russian aggression in the region justifies NATO expansion. Realists, however, have argued that it is the very fact of actual and prospective NATO expansion which has caused this aggression in the first place.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, repressive legislative changes and tightened war-censorship prompted a new wave of media professionals leaving the Federation. This study explores how Russian journalists resettling in the Baltic states articulate their professional identity and view the Russian versus Baltic governments’ attitudes while adapting abroad. While recognizing the Russian oppositional sphere’s role in democracy promotion, this research draws insights from thirteen semi-structured interviews conducted in the fall of 2023 with exiled media professionals in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The study employs Mark Deuze’s ideal typical values on professional ideology (public service, immediacy, autonomy, ethics, and objectivity) supplemented by Patric Raemy’s take on resilience theory, utilizing a hybrid inductive-deductive methodology with apriori themes of a) oppositionality and ideology, b) logistics and migration as well as c) adaptation and resilience. Findings showed that exiled journalists’ articulations of anti-war positions were intrinsically connected to their professional roles. There were also strong commitments to transparent information access. In parallel, editorials experienced either de- or reiterated hierarchization stemming from working in crisis. Key professional challenges included circumventing censorship, financial struggles, and losing access to domestic informants. Adaptive and maladaptive mechanisms ranged from being psychosocial to technical. Adaptation overall was reflected in strengthened corporate solidarity and in exiled media outlets’ joint moral-legal responsibilities for proxy-reporters / Sedan Rysslands fullskaliga invasion av Ukraina har repressiva lagändringar och skärpt krigscensur föranlett en ny våg av yrkesverksamma inom mediebranschen som lämnat federationen. Denna studie undersöker hur ryska journalister som flyttat till de baltiska länderna artikulerar sin professionella identitet och betraktar den ryska kontra de baltiska regeringarnas attityder, samtidigt som de anpassar sitt arbete utomlands. Med emfas på den ryska oppositionella sfärens demokratifrämjande roll, utgår denna forskning från semistrukturerade intervjuer med tretton exiljournalister i Estland, Lettland och Litauen utförda hösten 2023. Studien nyttjar Mark Deuze idealtypiska värden kopplade till journalisters professionella ideologi (public service, omedelbarhet, autonomi, etik och objektivitet) vilka kompletteras av Patric Raemys bidrag till resiliensteori. Uppsatsen använder sig av en induktiv-deduktiv tematisk hybridmetod med tre apriori-teman: a) oppositionalitet och ideologi, b) logistik och migration, liksom c) anpassning och resiliens. Resultaten visade att exiljournalisters artikulering av sin antikrigsställning var inneboende kopplad till deras professionella rolluppfattning. Det rådde även en stark pliktkänsla i att försäkra transparent tillgång till information. Parallellt upplevde exilredaktionerna antingen försvagade eller förstärkta internhierarkier till följd av sitt arbete i kris. Professionella nyckelutmaningar innefattade kringgående av censur, ekonomiska svårigheter och en förlorad tillgång till inhemska informanter och källor. Så kallade ’adaptiva’ och ’maladaptiva’ mekanismer hyste alltifrån en psykosocial till teknisk karaktär. Gruppens anpassning överlag speglades i en stärkt företagssolidaritet och i exilmediers gemensamma morala och juridiska ansvar för sina proxyreportrar.

La thèse a pour objectif principal de contribuer à l’étude des déterminants de l’engagement des pays donateurs en matière de développement. En constatant une progression universaliste dans la recherche de tels déterminants, qui consiste à identifier des variables indépendantes communes pour l’ensemble des bailleurs de fonds, la thèse est partie pour défier cette recherche tout en l’enrichissant. Le défi renvoie à l’étude de cas spécifique de l’engagement balte en faveur de l’aide. Il s’agit d’un défi pluriel, empirique comme méthodologique. Sur le plan empirique, c’est un contexte historique particulier des pays baltes, celui de l’adhésion à l’UE et l’obligation de contribuer aux efforts de la communauté des bailleurs de fonds européens, qui est à noter. De repères méthodologiques font défaut en raison du manque de données et de recherche systématique sur le sujet. La thèse propose de neutraliser les biais qui peuvent en résulter en mettant l’engagement balte en perspective par rapport aux pays de Visegrád, disposant de l’expérience en matière d’aide étrangère de l’époque d’avant 1989. En dépit du manque d’une expérience propre, le trio balte affichent des efforts en faveur des populations plus démunies à la hauteur des pays de Visegrád. L’engagement en ressort comme une réalité sociopolitique complexe, dépassant le registre incrémental et la contrainte de l’UE. Il s’affirme à l’échelle européenne comme un processus d’émulation intergouvernementale. Un ancrage social de ce processus relève pourtant moins d’une croyance absolue en ce qui est adéquat que d’un effort raisonné de ne pas se distinguer parmi ses pairs. / The dissertation aims to contribute to the research on determinants of the commitment of donor countries in the area of development aid. Given the progress of a universalist approach towards studying these determining factors (an approach aiming to identify common independent variables for the donor community as a whole), the dissertation takes the position of challenging the current research while, at the same time, enriching it. The main challenge, empirical as well as methodological, lies within the choice of a specific case study, which is the commitment of the Baltic states. Empirically, the specificity of the Baltic countries relates to their historical context, that is, their accession to the EU and their obligation to contribute to the efforts of the European donor community. Yet another specificity relates to the lack of relevant data and systematic research on the subject. Considering the biases which may result from this state of play concerning the Baltic countries, the dissertation frames their commitment in a comparative perspective with regard to the Visegrad Four, which possess relevant experience from the pre-1989 period. Despite the lack of their own national experience, the Baltic states deploy efforts akin to those of the Visegrad countries. Hence, their commitment reveals itself as a complex sociopolitical reality, determined by factors other than incrementalism or the EU’s pressure. The commitment appears as a process of intergovernmental emulation. A social nature of this process is however less linked to an unconditional belief in what is considered to be appropriate than to a reasoned effort not to stand out among one’s peers.

Diploma thesis "Nordic Cooperation. Its Transformation in the Second Half of the 20th Century and Its Current Shape" deals with the Nordic cooperation among Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden from the second half of the 20th century with the focus on the period from the 1990s till 2008. At the beginning, there is an introduction to the history of cooperation in Scandinavia till the 1990s and a description of two main institutions of the Nordic cooperation: the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The main chapter analyses the Nordic cooperation from the 1990s, it focuses on areas and intensity of the cooperation and describes concrete programmes, projects, institutions, targets and results of the cooperation. The thesis also deals with the question of the impact of the three Baltic States involvement in the Nordic cooperation in the 1990s. The answer is that the internal Nordic cooperation has been developing very intensively - it was demonstrated by the analysis of the Nordic cooperation in the 1990s in the main chapter - without any affecting of the Baltic States involvement in the main. On the contrary, the Baltic States involvement has brouhgt the external opportunity for the Nordic countries to integrate into the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region.

Since its inclusion in the Copenhagen criteria, the protection of minority rights has been an important political condition set by the European Union (EU) for candidate states. This thesis examines the effectiveness of EU conditionality on the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to change their ethnic policies and its affect on the Russian-speaking minority of the states. The main argument of this thesis is that the European accession process has promoted minority rights in the three Baltic states, following which the Russian-speaking minority in the Baltic States have been partially integrated. However, the domestic opposition and the potential threat from Russia hindered EU's efforts to influence outcomes of the domestic policies.

無論是沙皇政權或是蘇維埃政權，都會在侵略併吞而來的土地上實行俄化或是蘇維埃化的政策，希望能建立一個大一統的國家，創造一個享有共同文化、共同語言、甚至是有共同認同的民族。但是，1991年蘇聯的解體，不只打破了蘇共創造「蘇維埃民族」的美夢，還證明了蘇聯民族政策的嚴重錯誤。 19世紀以前，進入波海地區的俄羅斯人數量並不多。19世紀之後，沙皇政府開始在此區實行大規模的俄化，並開始將大批的俄羅斯人遷移至此。從第一次世界大戰以後到第二次世界大戰這段期間，波海三國享有了一段短暫的獨立國家時期。這個時期，基本上，波海三國對其境內的俄羅斯人是採取尊重的態度。第二次世界大戰爆發，因為德蘇密約的簽訂，使波海三國再次地被蘇聯併吞。史達林佔領波海三國之後，立刻大規模地流放波海三國的人民，並將大批的俄羅斯人引進，使愛沙尼亞與拉脫維亞兩國在人口統計學上的俄化情形十分嚴重。 1985年戈巴契夫上台以後，波海三國利用改革的機會，追求獨立，最後，以非暴力的方式獲得成功，重建獨立國家。波海三國獨立以後，俄羅斯人的地位有了很大的改變，一下子從優勢的統治地位變成弱勢的少數民族。愛沙尼亞與拉脫維亞因為懷疑俄羅斯人的忠誠度以及擔心會被滅族，所以採取了排外的公民權法，使大部分的俄羅斯人都無法獲得公民權。另外，因為大部分的俄羅斯人都不會說愛沙尼亞語或拉脫維亞語，所以不僅在取得公民權上有困難，在經濟與社會處境上也變得比較差。至於俄羅斯人的認同，可以說是複雜的。大多數的俄羅斯人在政治上是對所居住的共和國忠誠，在文化上還是認為自己是屬於俄羅斯文化的一部份。至於立陶宛，賦予境內大部分的俄羅斯人公民權，因此，立陶宛的族群關係較緩和。 俄羅斯政府自認為是境外俄羅斯人權益的捍衛者，但是，對於波海三國的少數民族政策所能造成的影響並不大。相反地，西方政府的批評與建議常常能成功地影響波海三國的決策。主要的原因在於波海三國急切地想回歸歐洲、西方政府與組織能提供援助、滿足國家安全需求與歐安組織派遣使節到愛、拉兩國。 / No matter what it was the Czar’s regime or the Soviet government, it would always implement a policy of Russification or Sovietization on invaded lands, in order to establish a united nation with common culture, shared the same language and national identity. However, since the breaking down of the Soviet Union in 1991, not only the dream of the ‘Soviet People’ broke down, but it also suggested a misleading of ethnic-national policy. Before the 19th century, there were not many Russians in the Baltic area. After the 19th century, the Czar’s regime started to implement the policy of Russification on a large scale, and it also moved many Russians to settle there. During the period of the First World War and the Second World War, the Baltic States had enjoyed a short period as independent nations. In this period, the Baltic States basically treated the Russians within their states with respect. Because Germany and Russia had signed a treaty before the Second World War, therefore, when the war erupted, the Baltic States were once again occupied by the Russia. After Stalin took over the Baltic States, he exiles people from the Baltic States on a large scale, while moving many Russians into these countries. As a result, Estonia and Latvia were seriously Russificated demogranphically. In 1985, Gorbachev gained the power. While the Russia government was reforming its political entity, the Baltic States seized the opportunity to go independent. They successfully gained their independence through non-violent method and rebuild themselves as independent states. Ever since the Baltic States became independent, the status of the Russians within their regions had changed rapidly. The Russians were once the dominant ruling class and suddenly became the ruled minority. Estonia and Latvia are concerned with the issues of royalty of the Russian people, also they were worried that they would become extinct as an ethnic group, therefore, they adopted an exclusive citizenship laws. Because most of the Russians could not speak Estonian and Latvian languages, therefore, they had difficulties to acquire the citizenship and they also did poorly financially and politically within these two nations. As for the notion of the Russian identity, it was a very complicated issue. Most Russians are politically royal to the Republics they reside, but culturally they still considered themselves as part of the Russian culture. In Lithuania, it granted most of the Russians that reside in its nation the citizenship; therefore, the ethnic relationship within the country was less tense comparatively. Russian government always views itself as the protector of the rights of its people that reside in other countries. However, this does not affect the policies regarding the minority in the Baltic States. On the other hand, the criticism and suggestions from the western governments can often affect the process of the policy-making in the Baltic States. The main reason is that the Baltic States are eager to return to Europe, and they can acquire aids from the western governments and organizations, securing their nations. Another reason is Estonia and Latvia hopefully get rid of the representatives from OSCE as soon as possible.