Ainius Lašas
Biographic Data
| ID | 4165002 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ainius Lašas |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ainius |
| FAMILY NAME | Lašas |
| SIGNATURE | LAŠAS A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Kaunas University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8306-4469 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Ways That We Are Wrong
This paper is a theoretical contribution to an ongoing debate regarding the current predicament of truth and knowledge in the era of digital information overflow. It suggests that instead of an â era of post-truthâ in a literal sense, we should talk about a specific period of human informational vulnerability. The paper proposes a scheme for analysing human cognitive patterns that emerge when facing the confusing and murky reality of information …
Blended dystopia
This study represents the first extensive analysis of popular support for conspiracy theories in Lithuania. Utilizing a representative national survey, it examines a wide range of potential correlates of conspiracism derived from the extracted general factor of conspiracy-related statements. The findings highlight a blended dystopian perspective, combining personal and public and present and past dimensions. Specifically, it encompasses dissatisf…
Backstage Democracy
Backstage Democracy
Reliance on Conspiracy Theories Among Lithuanian Population
This article analyses the statistical validity of popular explanations for peoples‘s tendency to rely on conspiracy theories in Lithuanian public discourse. The paper discovers that out of four most popular explanations, belief in paranormal phenomena and determinist thinking have the strongest correlation. The evaluation of one‘s own perceived financial wellbeing also proves significance. Meanwhile, education, political knowledge and actual inco…
Facing past, present, and future
This article investigates the role of historical beliefs and experiences in threat perception. Drawing on the results of a representative survey in Lithuania, it demonstrates a link between public beliefs about the Soviet period and public assessments of the likelihood of Russian military invasion, NATO disintegration, and diminishing levels of national security. Additionally, the study places historical beliefs within a tapestry of other theoret…
Korupcijos skandalai kaip sisteminių pokyčių variklis
full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English] This article aims to determine the impact of corruption scandals on systemic partisan and legislative changes. The study is based on one case analysis focusing on the MG Baltic corruption scandal, which can be distinguished from other corruption scandals by its systemic large-scale trade of and the impact on political processes in Lithuania. The study uses the triangulation method usin…
Living in the past
Threat perception is a key issue defining intergroup conflict dynamics. To date, it has been linked with power asymmetries and value similarities between groups. This article examines the role of victimization memory in threat construction. The results of an experiment converge to suggest that personal and institutional victimization memories are robust predictors of the levels of threat perception. They act as primary references in the assessmen…
Behind the storefront of democracy
This paper examines the dynamics of informality in the politics-media nexus. The case study of Lithuanian politics-media relations is used to explore an “average” CEE democracy, where informal rules and practices compete with formal rules and laws in defining everyday interactions between political and media elites. The findings, primarily driven by original interview data, suggest that local mass media can be not only the objects, but also the a…
Grėsmių Visuomenės Gerovei Suvokimas
Atsižvelgdami į nacionalinio saugumo, rizikos visuomenės ir žmogaus socialinės raidos sampratas, analizuojame grėsmes visuomenės gerovei. Analizėje remiamės socialinio konstruktyvizmo sąvoka ir Lietuvos gyventojų reprezentatyvios apklausos (vykdytos „Vilmorus“ 2016 m. pavasarį, N = 1 004) duomenimis. Savo tyrime susiduriame su visapusiškos visuomenės gerovės samprata, kuri ignoruoja tai, kad atskiros grėsmių sritys gali daryti skirtingą poveik…
Emotions in International Politics
In recent years, social scientists have increasingly recognized the interconnectedness of thought on emotions. Nowhere is the role of passions more evident than international politics, where pride, anger, guilt, fear, empathy, and other feelings are routinely on display. But in the absence of an overarching theory of emotions, how can we understand their role at the international level? Emotions in International Politics fills the need for theore…
Daily Democracy
The analysis of popular political values provides a key for understanding the day-to-day functioning of democracies. This chapter argues for the relevance of culture at both mass and political elite levels, with media functioning as a crucial interlocutor between the two. The author examines and compares the democratic cultures of old and new EU member states in order to assess their resilience to competing informal practices, arguably one of the…
Fifty Letters from the Troubled Modern World
Leonidas Donskis’s Fifty Letters from the Troubled Modern World truly reads like a collection of letters from a European intellectual, philosopher, art and literary critic, politician and a histori
Legacies of Srebrenica
Having been traumatized by the actions of theBosnianSerb army and its primary supporterSerbia in Srebrenica, theNetherlands insisted on applying strictEUconditionality criteria forBelgrade's candidacy. TheDutch determination to repeatedly stall the process ofEU‐Serbian negotiations and to snub the preferences of the rest of theEUmembers cannot be adequately explained without taking into account the role of self‐conscious affect. The article not o…
When History Matters
The outbreak of the Russo-Georgian war sparked a very strong and swift reaction from the Baltic states and Poland. In contrast to other European states, they did not hesitate to accuse Russia of initiating the conflict and sought to punish it for its alleged imperialist ambitions. Traditional variables of national economic, geopolitical or security interests fall short of accounting for such acute sensitivity by Baltic and Polish politicians. Ins…
The ‘Baltic’ Factor in EU–Russian Relations
With their post-Soviet history and conflictual relationship with the Russian Federation, the Baltic States sought entry into the European Union (EU) for more political clout, economic stability and geopolitical reinforcement. However, what Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania discovered was a great deal more complex and less coherent political community than they had hoped. This paper looks at how the Baltic States have affected and been affected by EU–…
Guilt, Sympathy, and Cooperation
The period between March 1990 and June 1993 represents the critical window for European Union (EU)—Baltic relations. During this time Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania laid the foundation for future EU membership. For its part, the European community made a commitment to include the three republics in the process of enlargement. This paper traces the beginnings of EU—Baltic cooperation and examines factors that led to growing political and economic …
Restituting victims
Following the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, many Central and Eastern European countries launched a vigorous ‘come back to Europe’ campaign, which primarily focused on accession to NATO and the European Union. I interpret the decisions of the Euro-Atlantic community to enlarge eastward as a historical restitution for countries affected by the ‘black trinity’: the Munich Agreement, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and the Yalta–Potsdam Conferences…
Bloody Sunday
In January 1991 Soviet troops conducted several military operations in Vilnius and Riga aimed at subduing the renegade Baltic republics. In the aftermath of these events, nearly 20 civilians died and dozens were injured. To this day, Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Soviet Union at that time, denies knowing or approving of these operations. This article reexamines his claims of innocence and finds convincing evidence to the contrary: most like…
External engagement
The analysis of the Baltic transition reveals the importance of external actors' participation in the process of state transformation. Based on the experiences of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, this article establishes six broad policy principles for effective external engagement. First, the nature, level, and scope of engagement directly correlates with the sustainability of transition. Second, equality in bilateral cooperation brings trust and…
When History Matters
The outbreak of the Russo-Georgian war sparked a very strong and swift reaction from the Baltic states and Poland. In contrast to other European states, they did not hesitate to accuse Russia of initiating the conflict and sought to punish it for its alleged imperialist ambitions. Traditional variables of national economic, geopolitical or security interests fall short of accounting for such acute sensitivity by Baltic and Polish politicians. Ins…
Restituting victims
Following the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, many Central and Eastern European countries launched a vigorous ‘come back to Europe’ campaign, which primarily focused on accession to NATO and the European Union. I interpret the decisions of the Euro-Atlantic community to enlarge eastward as a historical restitution for countries affected by the ‘black trinity’: the Munich Agreement, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and the Yalta–Potsdam Conferences…
The ‘Baltic’ Factor in EU–Russian Relations
With their post-Soviet history and conflictual relationship with the Russian Federation, the Baltic States sought entry into the European Union (EU) for more political clout, economic stability and geopolitical reinforcement. However, what Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania discovered was a great deal more complex and less coherent political community than they had hoped. This paper looks at how the Baltic States have affected and been affected by EU–…
Living in the past
Threat perception is a key issue defining intergroup conflict dynamics. To date, it has been linked with power asymmetries and value similarities between groups. This article examines the role of victimization memory in threat construction. The results of an experiment converge to suggest that personal and institutional victimization memories are robust predictors of the levels of threat perception. They act as primary references in the assessmen…
Behind the storefront of democracy
This paper examines the dynamics of informality in the politics-media nexus. The case study of Lithuanian politics-media relations is used to explore an “average” CEE democracy, where informal rules and practices compete with formal rules and laws in defining everyday interactions between political and media elites. The findings, primarily driven by original interview data, suggest that local mass media can be not only the objects, but also the a…
Grėsmių Visuomenės Gerovei Suvokimas
Atsižvelgdami į nacionalinio saugumo, rizikos visuomenės ir žmogaus socialinės raidos sampratas, analizuojame grėsmes visuomenės gerovei. Analizėje remiamės socialinio konstruktyvizmo sąvoka ir Lietuvos gyventojų reprezentatyvios apklausos (vykdytos „Vilmorus“ 2016 m. pavasarį, N = 1 004) duomenimis. Savo tyrime susiduriame su visapusiškos visuomenės gerovės samprata, kuri ignoruoja tai, kad atskiros grėsmių sritys gali daryti skirtingą poveik…
Korupcijos skandalai kaip sisteminių pokyčių variklis
full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English] This article aims to determine the impact of corruption scandals on systemic partisan and legislative changes. The study is based on one case analysis focusing on the MG Baltic corruption scandal, which can be distinguished from other corruption scandals by its systemic large-scale trade of and the impact on political processes in Lithuania. The study uses the triangulation method usin…
Legacies of Srebrenica
Having been traumatized by the actions of theBosnianSerb army and its primary supporterSerbia in Srebrenica, theNetherlands insisted on applying strictEUconditionality criteria forBelgrade's candidacy. TheDutch determination to repeatedly stall the process ofEU‐Serbian negotiations and to snub the preferences of the rest of theEUmembers cannot be adequately explained without taking into account the role of self‐conscious affect. The article not o…
Guilt, Sympathy, and Cooperation
The period between March 1990 and June 1993 represents the critical window for European Union (EU)—Baltic relations. During this time Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania laid the foundation for future EU membership. For its part, the European community made a commitment to include the three republics in the process of enlargement. This paper traces the beginnings of EU—Baltic cooperation and examines factors that led to growing political and economic …
External engagement
The analysis of the Baltic transition reveals the importance of external actors' participation in the process of state transformation. Based on the experiences of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, this article establishes six broad policy principles for effective external engagement. First, the nature, level, and scope of engagement directly correlates with the sustainability of transition. Second, equality in bilateral cooperation brings trust and…
Bloody Sunday
In January 1991 Soviet troops conducted several military operations in Vilnius and Riga aimed at subduing the renegade Baltic republics. In the aftermath of these events, nearly 20 civilians died and dozens were injured. To this day, Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Soviet Union at that time, denies knowing or approving of these operations. This article reexamines his claims of innocence and finds convincing evidence to the contrary: most like…
Guilt, Sympathy, and Cooperation
The period between March 1990 and June 1993 represents the critical window for European Union (EU)—Baltic relations. During this time Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania laid the foundation for future EU membership. For its part, the European community made a commitment to include the three republics in the process of enlargement. This paper traces the beginnings of EU—Baltic cooperation and examines factors that led to growing political and economic …
Restituting victims
Following the disintegration of the Soviet bloc, many Central and Eastern European countries launched a vigorous ‘come back to Europe’ campaign, which primarily focused on accession to NATO and the European Union. I interpret the decisions of the Euro-Atlantic community to enlarge eastward as a historical restitution for countries affected by the ‘black trinity’: the Munich Agreement, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, and the Yalta–Potsdam Conferences…
The ‘Baltic’ Factor in EU–Russian Relations
With their post-Soviet history and conflictual relationship with the Russian Federation, the Baltic States sought entry into the European Union (EU) for more political clout, economic stability and geopolitical reinforcement. However, what Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania discovered was a great deal more complex and less coherent political community than they had hoped. This paper looks at how the Baltic States have affected and been affected by EU–…
When History Matters
The outbreak of the Russo-Georgian war sparked a very strong and swift reaction from the Baltic states and Poland. In contrast to other European states, they did not hesitate to accuse Russia of initiating the conflict and sought to punish it for its alleged imperialist ambitions. Traditional variables of national economic, geopolitical or security interests fall short of accounting for such acute sensitivity by Baltic and Polish politicians. Ins…
Legacies of Srebrenica
Having been traumatized by the actions of theBosnianSerb army and its primary supporterSerbia in Srebrenica, theNetherlands insisted on applying strictEUconditionality criteria forBelgrade's candidacy. TheDutch determination to repeatedly stall the process ofEU‐Serbian negotiations and to snub the preferences of the rest of theEUmembers cannot be adequately explained without taking into account the role of self‐conscious affect. The article not o…
Fifty Letters from the Troubled Modern World
Leonidas Donskis’s Fifty Letters from the Troubled Modern World truly reads like a collection of letters from a European intellectual, philosopher, art and literary critic, politician and a histori
Daily Democracy
The analysis of popular political values provides a key for understanding the day-to-day functioning of democracies. This chapter argues for the relevance of culture at both mass and political elite levels, with media functioning as a crucial interlocutor between the two. The author examines and compares the democratic cultures of old and new EU member states in order to assess their resilience to competing informal practices, arguably one of the…
Emotions in International Politics
In recent years, social scientists have increasingly recognized the interconnectedness of thought on emotions. Nowhere is the role of passions more evident than international politics, where pride, anger, guilt, fear, empathy, and other feelings are routinely on display. But in the absence of an overarching theory of emotions, how can we understand their role at the international level? Emotions in International Politics fills the need for theore…
Living in the past
Threat perception is a key issue defining intergroup conflict dynamics. To date, it has been linked with power asymmetries and value similarities between groups. This article examines the role of victimization memory in threat construction. The results of an experiment converge to suggest that personal and institutional victimization memories are robust predictors of the levels of threat perception. They act as primary references in the assessmen…
Behind the storefront of democracy
This paper examines the dynamics of informality in the politics-media nexus. The case study of Lithuanian politics-media relations is used to explore an “average” CEE democracy, where informal rules and practices compete with formal rules and laws in defining everyday interactions between political and media elites. The findings, primarily driven by original interview data, suggest that local mass media can be not only the objects, but also the a…
Grėsmių Visuomenės Gerovei Suvokimas
Atsižvelgdami į nacionalinio saugumo, rizikos visuomenės ir žmogaus socialinės raidos sampratas, analizuojame grėsmes visuomenės gerovei. Analizėje remiamės socialinio konstruktyvizmo sąvoka ir Lietuvos gyventojų reprezentatyvios apklausos (vykdytos „Vilmorus“ 2016 m. pavasarį, N = 1 004) duomenimis. Savo tyrime susiduriame su visapusiškos visuomenės gerovės samprata, kuri ignoruoja tai, kad atskiros grėsmių sritys gali daryti skirtingą poveik…
Korupcijos skandalai kaip sisteminių pokyčių variklis
full article and abstract in Lithuanian; abstract in English] This article aims to determine the impact of corruption scandals on systemic partisan and legislative changes. The study is based on one case analysis focusing on the MG Baltic corruption scandal, which can be distinguished from other corruption scandals by its systemic large-scale trade of and the impact on political processes in Lithuania. The study uses the triangulation method usin…
Facing past, present, and future
This article investigates the role of historical beliefs and experiences in threat perception. Drawing on the results of a representative survey in Lithuania, it demonstrates a link between public beliefs about the Soviet period and public assessments of the likelihood of Russian military invasion, NATO disintegration, and diminishing levels of national security. Additionally, the study places historical beliefs within a tapestry of other theoret…
Reliance on Conspiracy Theories Among Lithuanian Population
This article analyses the statistical validity of popular explanations for peoples‘s tendency to rely on conspiracy theories in Lithuanian public discourse. The paper discovers that out of four most popular explanations, belief in paranormal phenomena and determinist thinking have the strongest correlation. The evaluation of one‘s own perceived financial wellbeing also proves significance. Meanwhile, education, political knowledge and actual inco…
Backstage Democracy
Backstage Democracy
Blended dystopia
This study represents the first extensive analysis of popular support for conspiracy theories in Lithuania. Utilizing a representative national survey, it examines a wide range of potential correlates of conspiracism derived from the extracted general factor of conspiracy-related statements. The findings highlight a blended dystopian perspective, combining personal and public and present and past dimensions. Specifically, it encompasses dissatisf…
Ways That We Are Wrong
This paper is a theoretical contribution to an ongoing debate regarding the current predicament of truth and knowledge in the era of digital information overflow. It suggests that instead of an â era of post-truthâ in a literal sense, we should talk about a specific period of human informational vulnerability. The paper proposes a scheme for analysing human cognitive patterns that emerge when facing the confusing and murky reality of information …
Political science (16 works) · Law (12 works) · Politics (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Economics (8 works) · Political economy (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Psychology (6 works) · European Union Policy and Governance (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works)