The Impact Of Political Discourse On Group Beliefs And Outgroup Antipathy Among Latvian Youth

Bibliographic Data

ID11264504
AuthorsRichard Moles (0000-0002-4790-5654, Schlumberger (Ireland), corresponding author), Richard C M Mole
Year2007
Volume38
Issue3
Pages273-289
Publication date2007-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Baltic Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-9778 • E-ISSN: 1751-7877
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01629770701526680
OpenAlexW2053728614
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited38

A study was conducted among young Latvians to test the effects of different conceptualizations of Latvian national identity on group beliefs and on attitudes towards Russians. It was hypothesized that exposure to inclusive discourse presenting Latvia as a multicultural society rather than an ethnic homeland would have a direct negative effect on feelings of vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority and helplessness with regard to the Latvian nation and a positive effect on attitudes towards Russians. The hypothesis was tested in one survey study conducted in Riga among ethnic Latvians (N = 150). Keywords: Discourseidentity constructionyouthinter-ethnic relations Acknowledgements This research was supported by grants from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies and the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict. The author would like to thank Hanna Zagefka, Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, Felix Ciută and the two anonymous reviewers for the comments. Notes Notes 1. See, inter alia, Law on Citizenship (adopted 1994; amended 1995, 1997, 1998); Law on the Unrestricted Development and Right to Cultural Autonomy of Latvia's Nationalities and Ethnic Groups (adopted 1991, amended 1994); State Language Law (1999, amended 2000); Education Law (adopted 1998). 2. ‘OSCE Mission to Latvia Closed’, press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, 18 December 2001. 3. ‘Integration Policy in Latvia: A Multi-Faceted Approach’, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia website, available at: http://www.mfa.gov.lv/, accessed August 2006. In this article the statistics on ‘Russians’ relate specifically to ethnic Russians, rather than Russian-speakers more generally. 4. Other reasons given by non-citizens included: uncertainty about passing the language and history examinations; lack of finance; satisfaction with non-citizen passport; that the naturalization process was humiliating; that they were too busy; that they did not wish to serve in the Latvian army. 5. This section is based on a more in-depth analysis of the relationship between discourse and identity in Mole Citation2007, reproduced with permission of Palgrave Macmillan. 6. Participants were allowed to self-define their ethnic identity. 7. Thanks to Julie Chalfin for introducing me to this measure. 8. R. J. Eidelson, ‘Multi-Level Beliefs as Predictors of Life Satisfaction, Group Identification and Support for the War on Terrorism’, unpublished paper, p. 3, available on the website of the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/sacsec/eidelson, accessed August 2006. 9. Cronbach's alpha is an index measuring the reliability of the scale. 10. R. J. Eidelson, ‘Multi-Level Beliefs as Predictors of Life Satisfaction, Group Identification and Support for the War on Terrorism’, unpublished paper, p. 4, available on the website of the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict at: http://www.psych.upenn.edu/sacsec/eidelson, accessed August 2006. 11. Ibid. 12. ANOVA is an analysis of variance. It is a statistical technique allowing for the comparison of different groups to see whether they differ significantly from each other on a particular outcome measure. 13. Latvians and Russians are represented in and pursue a number of different social and professional activities but the representation of each ethnic group in these various activities is not symmetrical

Antipathy · Diaspora · Ethnic group · Homeland · Latvian · Multiculturalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Social and Intergroup Psychology

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