Lost in Translation? The importance of language for the Political Mobilisation of Ethnic Russian Minorities in Estonia and Latvia

This thesis examines the relationship between language and political participation in the study of minority representation in Estonia and Latvia. The differences between the levels of mobilisation of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia present a puzzle that has yet to be explained. Language is a factor that has traditionally been ignored by scholars of political participation. However, this thesis argues that it is key to understanding different patterns of minority representation in Estonia and Latvia. This thesis argues that the higher level of titular language proficiency among Russian minorities in Latvia has given them a distinct advantage over Russian minorities in Estonia. This is because government legislation affords the titular languages an elevated status in both countries. No such concessions are made for minority languages such as Russian. Firstly, this thesis explains why the Russian minorities in the two countries have different levels of titular language...Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship between language and political participation in the study of minority representation in Estonia and Latvia. The differences between the levels of mobilisation of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia present a puzzle that has yet to be explained. Language is a factor that has traditionally been ignored by scholars of political participation. However, this thesis argues that it is key to understanding different patterns of minority representation in Estonia and Latvia. This thesis argues that the higher level of titular language proficiency among Russian minorities in Latvia has given them a distinct advantage over Russian minorities in Estonia. This is because government legislation affords the titular languages an elevated status in both countries. No such concessions are made for minority languages such as Russian. Firstly, this thesis explains why the Russian minorities in the two countries have different levels of titular language proficiency. Secondly, it reveals why language proficiency is a necessity for those who wish to participate in parliamentary politics. It uses a wide range of government legislation including citizenship laws, constitutions and language laws to demonstrate that linguistic proficiency is not only required for citizenship, but also for participation in parliamentary politics. This thesis ultimately reveals that the introduction of just one official language in two countries with such large minority groups has served to automatically disadvantage a significant proportion of the population from participating in politics and that differences between the two counties are likely to remain for some time unless Russian is introduced as a second official language.Show less

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Lost in Translation? The importance of language for the Political Mobilisation of Ethnic Russian Minorities in Estonia and Latvia