In the Baltics, the highest desire to defend their country, if necessary, is expressed by Estonians, while Latvia is in second place, while Lithuania is in third, a study conducted by an international team of researchers led by Riga Stradins University (RSU).
According to RSU, although the Baltics and other NATO member states continue to invest significantly in the field of defense, the readiness of the population to stand up for their country in crucial situations can also play an important role in influencing the decisions of governments or military forces.
The will of the population to protect the country is influenced by a number of factors, including patriotism, trust in state institutions, the economic situation, historical experience, as well as the religious and ideological beliefs of the population and others. With the “arming” in the information space, control over people’s minds is gaining momentum, so it is especially important to find out what promotes and slows down this desire, the research direction was described at the university.
In Estonia, this issue has been extensively researched and concluded that its indicators stand out because of the effective integration of the military and civilian sectors, including effective compulsory military service and reserve systems, as well as communication with the population. The influence of the Nordic countries, especially Finland, is also a positive factor. At the same time, the Russian-speaking public has a lower will to defend Estonia.
The attitude of the population in Latvia can be assessed as average – in the regional and global context, the will to defend one’s country is neither high nor low. Among the dampening factors are the low level of trust in state institutions and politicians, as well as the disappointment with the current pace of development of the country.
According to the researchers, Russia is also important – its aggression in Ukraine on the one hand has raised a sense of danger, but on the other hand – part of the Russian-speaking audience feels support for the opinion of the neighboring country.
Meanwhile, Lithuania’s low performance is largely influenced by room for progress on issues of patriotism, pride in its country, as well as military experience and civil society activity. The compulsory military service renewed in 2015 has not yet brought all the expected results in this respect.
Six researchers have taken part in the creation of the publication, under the leadership of RSU Assistant Professor and Leading Researcher Māris Andžāns, who specializes in security and defense policy. Docent Jaojuens Je, who analyzes the theoretical aspects of the will to protect the country, is also involved in the publication, while RSU doctoral student Mārtiņš Vargulis analyzes NATO’s approach. Ivo Jūrve, a researcher at the Estonian Military Academy, brings the Estonian perspective to the study, Ieva Gajauskaite, an assistant professor at the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy, offers a Lithuanian perspective, and Aleksandra Palkova, a Master’s student at RSU International Relations and Diplomacy, analyzes the situation in Latvia.
The research of the topic will continue for the next three years, as the researchers have just received funding from the Latvian-Lithuanian-Taiwan Scientific Cooperation Support Fund for the project “Factors and Actors Affecting the State: The Case of Latvia, Lithuania and Taiwan”. The research will take place synchronously at RSU, Vilnius University in Lithuania and the Academia Sinica Institute of Political Science in Taiwan. It is planned that sociological research, interviews and public discussions will take place during these years, but the conclusions of the research will be published in scientific journals.
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