The Political Agenda during Different Periods of Estonian Transformation: External and Internal Factors

Lauristin, Marju; Vihalemm, Peeter

doi:10.4324/9781003061243-1

Cited by 4 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…The political reforms were implemented by a political elite that consisted mainly of the winners of transition and aimed to shake off the unwanted Soviet past (Pungas, 2017). Their association of the socialist with the colonial silenced those voices who were critical about the neo-liberalisation of the countries' political economies (Lauristin and Vihalemm, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The neo-liberal development paradigm that the Baltic and other CEE countries followed based on the Washington Consensus principles since the early 1990s did not succeed in providing balanced spatial development and ensuring equally distributed living standards (PoSCoPP, 2015). Instead, the radical market liberalism promoted by the Baltic States' political elites since regaining independence from the USSR in 1991 led to an ongoing socio-spatial polarisation (Lauristin and Vihalemm, 2009). In terms of spatial planning, the transition resulted in the rapid transformation of a complex and rigid hierarchical system, subordinated to the logic of the command economy and based on the principle of the distributive allocation of resources, into a decentralised one; concurrently, the main task of the planning system shifted from allocation to facilitation and controlnow demanded by market mechanisms (Golubchikov, 2004(Golubchikov, , 2006.…”

Section: Political Challenges Post-socialist Legacies and (Responding To) Socio-spatial Polarisation In The Baltic Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These dynamics effectively skewed non-liberal policy options and brought about wide support for radical reforms (Madariaga, 2010). Moreover, the intense preparations for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and EU accession, which were perceived as a 'return to the West', unified the electorate, thereby hiding underlying social conflicts (Lauristin and Vihalemm, 2009).…”

Section: Political Challenges Post-socialist Legacies and (Responding To) Socio-spatial Polarisation In The Baltic Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Socio-spatial polarisation and policy response: Perspectives for regional development in the Baltic States

Lang

Burneika

Noorkõiv³

et al. 2021

European Urban and Regional Studies

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Based on a relational understanding of socio-spatial polarisation as a nested, multidimensional and multi-scalar process, the paper applies a comparative perspective on current trends of socio-spatial development in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Comparing current scholarship and data on demographic and economic processes of centralisation and peripheralisation, we also examine political debates around issues of polarisation in different scholarly national perspectives. Despite variations in national discourses, our comparative perspective conveys strong similarities between the three Baltic countries in terms of socio-economic and demographic concentration in the capital regions to the disadvantage of the rest of the country. The analysis of regional policies further points to tensions between a concern for territorial cohesion on the one hand, and an adherence to the neo-liberal logic of growth and competitiveness against the backdrop of post-socialist transition on the other hand. An overview of case studies in the three countries shows a common reliance on endogenous resources to foster local development, conforming to the neo-liberal logics of regional policy. However, these strategies remain niche models with different levels of success for the respective regions and also among the populations in the region. As a result, we argue for a stronger role of regional policy in the Baltic countries that goes beyond the capital regions by better addressing the negative consequences of uneven development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Challenges Post-socialist Legacies and (Responding To) Socio-spatial Polarisation In The Baltic Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Challenges Post-socialist Legacies and (Responding To) Socio-spatial Polarisation In The Baltic Statesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Socio-spatial polarisation and policy response: Perspectives for regional development in the Baltic States

Lang

Burneika

Noorkõiv³

et al. 2021

European Urban and Regional Studies

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“…Eastern Europe provides the self-evident arena for exploring the urge to move away from socialist status and, through the channel of post-socialism, towards capitalism. The will and eagerness ‘to return to the Western world’ (Lauristin et al, 1997) and ‘to improve’ (Li, 2007) that followed state socialism’s collapse have been particularly intense in Estonia (Lauristin and Vihalemm, 2009). Moreover, the historico-political constellations under which the post-socialist ‘restored state’ (see Brubaker, 1992: 282) has emerged have been particularly powerful in gaining acceptance for reforms from the local population.…”

Section: Distancing From Socialismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-socialism as an experience of distancing and dispossession in rural and transnational Estonia

Annist

2022

Critique of Anthropology

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This article brings together two sets of data – from rural Estonia and the Estonian diaspora in the UK – to analyse the themes of dispossession and distancing. The article highlights links between the processes of Othering and the continuing significance of the concepts of socialism and post-socialism as explanatory in relation to emerging hierarchies related to the region. In Estonia, some people and regions still seem to bear the marks of state socialism and face symbolic dispossession, in particular, the rural regions. Rural Estonians experience social dispossession and distance from one another, as well as from their home regions by migrating. With migration to western Europe, people acquire opportunities for taking new control over their own image, thus enabling some renewed symbolic and social worth. However, in the case of the diaspora in the UK, the migrant setting demonstrates how the use of disparaging terminology linked to the post-socialist transformation travels beyond borders, and also how the symbolic dispossession of eastern Europeans arises from the stigma of post-socialism.

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“…Today, all three Baltic states are considered successful, but in the first few years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Estonia was leagues ahead of its neighbours -a fact acknowledged by the EU in 1997, as Estonia was invited to the negotiating table two years before Latvia and Lithuania. According to scholars, the transition in Estonia can be broken down into five distinct stages ranging from 1987 to 2005+ (Lauristin and Vihalemm, 2009). These were: The 'Singing Revolution' of 1987 to 1991, radical reforms from 1991 to 1994, economic stabilisation and the beginning of EU and NATO integration talks from 1995 to 1998, preparations for EU accession from 1999 to 2004, and finally identity crises and new challenges following accession (2005+).…”

Section: Transition Into the Eumentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of Estonia’s established relations with the EU on the success of its post-communist transition

Walker

2022

ANZJES

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ESAANZ ESSAY PRIZE WINNERThis paper investigates Estonia’s post-communist transition and the successes and challenges of its accession and integration into EU. Specifically, it examines the tumultuous history between Estonia and Russia over the course of the last century and how this affected Estonian independence in the 1990s and the path to EU accession. Due to historical and ethnic factors, Estonians had always been opposed to Russification. This factor, coupled with Estonia’s consolidated liberal democracy and working market economy, has led the country’s accession to the EU to be one of the most successful examples of an effective post-communist transition. EU accession has benefitted Estonia in terms of protection against the ever-lingering threat of Russia, but such benefits have not come without a cost. Estonia has struggled with treatment of minorities and refugees, while its support for EU integration has been tested by the rise of populism both within and beyond its borders.

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The Political Agenda during Different Periods of Estonian Transformation: External and Internal Factors

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

Socio-spatial polarisation and policy response: Perspectives for regional development in the Baltic States

Socio-spatial polarisation and policy response: Perspectives for regional development in the Baltic States

Post-socialism as an experience of distancing and dispossession in rural and transnational Estonia

The impact of Estonia’s established relations with the EU on the success of its post-communist transition

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