NEGOTIATING IDENTITIES AND FRIENDSHIPS WHILE LIVING ABROAD: EXPERIENCES OF LATVIAN MIGRANTS

By moving, a person loses at least some of their social contacts, causing not just psychological distress and anxiety, but also loss of support networks one can rely on in times of need. Latvia was one of the typical ‘sending countries’ in Europe, and since year 2000 about 10% of the population has emigrated. Here we would like to use the data gathered in the Latvian migrant survey to analyze how the migrants integrate into the local communities, and to what extent they still maintain close ties to their home countries; how does it change with time and what factors affect it. A special attention will be paid to how do emigrants’ identities change with time – do they retain their national identity, do they integrate also in terms of belonging and identification with the host community, perhaps it is a mix of both, or they develop a new, global or European identity? These are just some of the questions this research tries to answer. The paper is based on a recent Web-based survey of more than 10 000 Latvian emigrants abroad, in all regions of the world (including USA, Europe and Asia). The study was conducted with the support of by the ESF research grant “The emigrant communities of Latvia: National identity, transnational relations, and diaspora politics” (Nr.2013/0055/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/13/APIA/VIAA/040) – the largest survey of emigrants from one country so far conducted in Europe

Why did they need to come now? COVID-19 Crisis Strains Relationships with Returning and Visiting Compatriots.

One of the first areas severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic was international travel. In March/April, with commercial flights coming to a near halt, the governments were struggling to help their stranded citizens to return home. Extra flights and ferry trips were organised, and the opportunity to return was used by many emigrants worried about the uncertainty and the possible future development of the pandemic. This paper containing both data collected through survey and in-depth interviews with people aged 50+ in Latvia, is the first to explore the reactions of the society to repatriation policy implemented by the government of Latvia, and to explore how the Covid-19 situation has affected the attitudes towards return migrants in general. Importantly, it demonstrates how education moderates these attitudes. The results show that most of the population consider returning migrants as a significant source of infections, and many had doubts if they follow self-isolation and other rules responsibly. Those with the higher education were in general more supportive of the repatriation policy demonstrating the importance of education and explaining difficult decisions in order to reduce tension and fear.publishersversionPeer reviewe

CAN RETURN MIGRATION REVITALISE LATVIA’S REGIONS? FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS TO HUMAN CAPITAL GAINS

Migration researchers from East-Central Europe most often focus on the impact of ‘brain drain’ which is characterised by the loss of human capital from emigration. In this paper focus is placed on the assumption that migrants living abroad gain valuable experiences and education opportunities, that lead to personal growth, facilitate entrepreneurship and psychological resilience, amongst other important skills. This experience may be used for the revitalisation of the less-developed regions the migrants return to. To explore what facilitates or inhibits the fulfil potential of ‘brain circulation’ or gain, we use data from two large-scale surveys of return migrants in Latvia, in-depth interviews, media analysis, regional workshops and secondary data. We find that return migrants often choose to return to the capital city and not their original point of departure. While towns and villages offer some advantages such as little competition, easier adaptation and high neighbourhood quality, reliance on personal contacts distorts the efficiency of job placement and there are fewer work opportunities in one’s acquired profession. The skills are waisted and employers remain unappreciative of knowledge gained abroad in towns and villages more than in Riga.

NEGOTIATING IDENTITIES AND FRIENDSHIPS WHILE LIVING ABROAD: EXPERIENCES OF LATVIAN MIGRANTS

By moving, a person loses at least some of their social contacts, causing not just psychological distress and anxiety, but also loss of support networks one can rely on in times of need. Latvia was one of the typical ‘sending countries’ in Europe, and since year 2000 about 10% of the population has emigrated. Here we would like to use the data gathered in the Latvian migrant survey to analyze how the migrants integrate into the local communities, and to what extent they still maintain close ties to their home countries; how does it change with time and what factors affect it. A special attention will be paid to how do emigrants’ identities change with time – do they retain their national identity, do they integrate also in terms of belonging and identification with the host community, perhaps it is a mix of both, or they develop a new, global or European identity? These are just some of the questions this research tries to answer. The paper is based on a recent Web-based survey of more than 10 000 Latvian emigrants abroad, in all regions of the world (including USA, Europe and Asia). The study was conducted with the support of by the ESF research grant “The emigrant communities of Latvia: National identity, transnational relations, and diaspora politics” (Nr.2013/0055/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/13/APIA/VIAA/040) – the largest survey of emigrants from one country so far conducted in Europe

Rise of remote work across borders: opportunities and implications for migrant-sending countries

Contact restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to the rapid expansion of remote work. With this expansion, new opportunities arise for the typical migrant-sending countries in Central and Eastern Europe to remotely involve their diaspora in their labor market. The aim of this paper is, by using the case study of Latvia, to show the potential of cross-border remote work for alleviating human capital losses caused by emigration. We assess the main obstacles and necessary adjustments in taxes, social benefits, labor market regulation and other areas to facilitate the labor market transition and show what incentives the country can use to become a place of choice for performing remote work for the diaspora. Combining the perspectives of employers, employees and the government, this study sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities related to the rise of remote work for countries suffering from emigration. The comprehensive analysis builds on triangulating secondary data, analysis of policy documents, a survey of employers, as well as a survey and in-depth interviews with cross-border remote workers

OVERCOMING SOCIAL ISOLATION WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AMONG AGEING POPULATIONS DURING COVID-19

During Covid-19 social isolation has become more common worldwide, however, some groups, especially elderly people, might have experienced dramatically limited communication due to the lack of skills and access to digital technologies. In this paper, we examined if education was associated with the use of digital technologies to maintain contacts with a family, friends, other social networks and services. The survey was conducted in June-August 2020 by doing 1089 computer-assisted telephone interviews. The questions examined how people aged 50 years and older coped with socioeconomic and health-related impact of COVID-19.We used logistic regression analysis to study the association between the use of digital technologies and the level of education by gender and age. The higher the education was, the more it strongly associated with the use of digital technologies (OR 5.85; 95% CI 3.78-9.03). As expected, age was a strong explanatory factor, however, we did not find consistent age and gender differences. Among those who used digital technologies, analyses showed that overcoming social isolation was related to the education level. The conclusion of the study is that education has inevitable impact on the use of digital technologies and social contacts, however high education level is not crucial for the acquisition of information. It seems that digital technologies are important tools to prevent social isolation and are related to education that includes digital access and competencies.

Latvijas zinātnieku diaspora: sadarbības tīkli un iespējas : pētījuma rezultāti

Pētījumstiek īstenots ERAF projektāNr.: 1.1.1.5/17/I/002 “Integrētie nacionālā līmeņa pasākumi Latvijas pētniecības un attīstības interešu pārstāvības stiprināšanai Eiropas pētniecības telpā”

Political Participation and Development of Political Attitudes in Post-Communist Countries

Pētnieki nereti pauduši bažas par politisko atsvešinātību postkomunisma valstīs, norādot, ka uzlabojumi iedzīvotāju politiskajās attieksmēs notiek lēni vai pat to nav (Howard, 2003; Mishler & Rose 2001; Lagerspetz, 2009). Vairumā postkomunisma valstu cilvēki neuzticas ne viens otram, ne politiskajām institūcijām, un šādas valsts un pilsoņu attiecības ir uzskatāmas par disfunkcionālām (Woolcock & Narayan 2000). Balstoties uz sociālā kapitāla teoriju, institucinālajām un kultūras teorijām, un izmantojot kvantitatīvu mikro līmeņa analīzi (strukturālo vienādojumu modelēšanu un oriģinālu kohortu analīzes tehniku) promocijas darbs piedāvā ieskatu valsts un pilsoņu attiecībās postkomunisma valstīs, kā arī mehānismos, kas nosaka to attīstību vai noturību. Atslēgas vārdi: politiskā atsvešinātība, postkommunisma valstis, kohortu analīze, politiskā socializācija, sociālais kapitāls, iemācītā bezpalīdzība.Abstract Often concerns are raised about the political disenchantment and the lack of notable improvements in political attitudes among the citizens of post-communist countries (Howard, 2003, Mishler & Rose 2001, Lagerspetz, 2009). In most of these countries people distrust both each other and the political authority, and such conflicting statesociety relations can be considered `dysfunctional' (Woolcock & Narayan 2000). Building on the social capital theory, institutional and cultural theories and by using quantitative micro-level analysis (structural equation modeling and an original technique of cohort analysis) this PhD thesis offers an insight into the state-society relations in post-communist countries, as well as mechanisms behind the evolution or persistence of these attitudes. Keywords: political alienation, post-communist countries, cohort analysis, political socialization, social capital, learned helplessnes

Political alienation and government-society relations in Post-Communist countries

On the basis of 1996 and 2006 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) data this paper explores the character of government-society relations in post-communist countries, and its dynamics. The use of comparative data and the application of Paige’s (1971) political alienation model and Woolcock’s and Narayan’s (2000) model of government-society relations allows to shed new light on citizen’s political attitudes by analysing them in the context of the overall political environment in the country. The results reveal that while citizens in most established democracies bear allegiant attitudes, citizens of post-communist countries feel alienated. Distrust of each other and of the political authorities leads to dysfunctional government-society relations. Since the time of transitional reforms people in post-communist countries have become more confident in their political capability, yet there is no general trend with regards to confidence in political authorities. Those at the margins of society often feel alienated, and dissident attitudes are on the rise, especially among youth