Conceptualising Adulthood in the Transition Society Context – the Case of Estonia

"The paper focuses on the conception of adulthood in post-communist Estonia, a society that has undergone vast structural, institutional and cultural changes. To this end, 179 essays written by high school graduates in five Estonian schools are analyzed.1 It is argued that the conceptualisation of adulthood is contextual and young people position and conceptualise themselves in the framework of these changes. Youth in Estonia, like their peers in Western Countries, stress intangible features (such as responsibility, mental maturity, social maturity, freedom) along with measurable transitions (employment, marriage, parenthood) when conceptualising adulthood. However, the meanings behind the concepts differ and are valued differently among respondents. This paper aims to provide a glance into what meanings are given to these perceptions. The most prevalent themes picked up by respondents were institutional transitions, responsibility and social maturity. Such prevalence is plausible, since these features in the transition to adulthood have changed the most in recent decades: the institutional context has changed and measurable transitions have prolonged; the level of individual responsibility in transitions has grown and the society has transformed." (author's abstract

The 1970s

This book draws a sociological portrait of the age group born in the 1970s in Estonia and discusses its generational features and constructions. This cohort’s coming of age coincided with the social and emotional turmoil of the re-independence movement in the late 1980s and with the transformation of society in the 1990s. This was the first cohort to negotiate its transition to adulthood in the new society, starting some new patterns of socialization, while also sharing some practices and experiences with older cohorts. Based on qualitative interviews as well as an analysis of media discourses and statistical data, the book traces the emergence of a new generation that draws its very own lessons from the past and from the social transformations that influenced life courses and careers. The book provides an intriguing discussion of socialization patterns and generation formation against the backdrop of post-socialist transformation. In addition, it provides a fascinating insight into the mind-set and experiences of a generation in the making, already shaping today’s society and culture

Negotiating the past: some issues of transmission of memories among Estonian young people

All across Europe, the past has always played a signifi cant role in youth activism and continues to do so, though in different countries the extent of this role may vary. This particular article deals with the question of how the issues of the past resonate in the lives of young people in Estonia. During recent decades, the tensions between hegemonic and alternative pasts have been a source of discursive as well as physical combats among the different socio-cultural groups in Estonia and are often loaded with a political and ideological burden. In 2007, these different understandings peaked with street riots, mostly dominated by young people. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of how young people make sense of the complicated past can tell us also a lot about the reasons behind their political activism (or lack thereof). The article is especially keen on exploring the questions of mechanisms of transmission of memory - how the past is socialised in different contexts (schools, museums, home), and how diffi cult pasts are dealt with and negotiated in groups of different ethnic and cultural background. By doing so, it will contribute to the theoretical discussions on relations of hegemonic past and communicative memory, how in different cultural contexts the hegemonic past is moulded or contested. It will be argued that young people actively contextualise and rework the matters of the complicated past in their everyday contexts. Neither hegemonic discourse nor the communicative past is absorbed without questions but constantly negotiated. The dataset of this article consists of in-depth individual (84) and group interviews (5) predominantly with young people, but also other meaningful adults in the youngsters' lives: their parents and grandparents, teachers and the like. In addition, participant observations are used as background data. The sample involves both ethnic Estonians and Russian-speaking minorities

The 1970s

This book draws a sociological portrait of the age group born in the 1970s in Estonia and discusses its generational features and constructions. This cohort’s coming of age coincided with the social and emotional turmoil of the re-independence movement in the late 1980s and with the transformation of society in the 1990s. This was the first cohort to negotiate its transition to adulthood in the new society, starting some new patterns of socialization, while also sharing some practices and experiences with older cohorts. Based on qualitative interviews as well as an analysis of media discourses and statistical data, the book traces the emergence of a new generation that draws its very own lessons from the past and from the social transformations that influenced life courses and careers. The book provides an intriguing discussion of socialization patterns and generation formation against the backdrop of post-socialist transformation. In addition, it provides a fascinating insight into the mind-set and experiences of a generation in the making, already shaping today’s society and culture

Chapter 19 Social generations and societal changes

This book focuses on social transformations as one of the central topics in the social sciences. The study of European social transformations is very valuable in the context of universal discussions within social sciences: explaining invariable, universal attributes of societies and examining changing attributes. The book consists of 20 chapters on European social transformations, written from the perspectives of distinguished scholars from such disciplines as economics, political science, educational science, geography, media and communication studies, public management and administration, social psychology and sociology. The temporal and spatial range of the book is wide, including such global changes as time-space compression, focusing particularly on change processes in Europe during the last two decades. The book consists of four main parts, beginning with an overview of the theoretical and methodological approaches, and then focusing separately on post-communist transformations, institutional drivers of social transformations in the European Union, and European transformations in the context of global processes. The book presents current theoretical, empirical and methodological approaches that complement the scientific literature on social transformations. This book is both an invaluable resource for scholars and an indispensable teaching tool for use in the classroom and will be of interest to students, academics, and policy-makers studying how this diverse region has changed over recent years

Liikuvus maal – läbi kriiside hübriidse võrgustunud ruumi poole

Silence and tranquillity form an integral part of rural life and contribute to our understanding of rurality. Thus, it is generally held that time passes slowly in the countryside, far from the nervous city life. Therefore, it is not surprising that mobility and movement (which are associated with speed and being busy) are associated with urbanity and stillness with rurality. Peace and quiet and the absence of hustle are highlighted even by those who live in the countryside and spend long hours in the car commuting between work and home. Such an image affects people’s daily life decisions, movement patterns, local development and infrastructure, as well as national policy of shaping rural life. What is often overlooked is that rural areas are connected to cities in hybrid and extensive ways that affect the development of society as a whole. This article analyses the networks between the country and the city in two recent crises – the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukrainian refugee crisis. It is argued that these relational connections surface vividly in situations of crisis and show that urban-rural networks constitute a kind of hybrid socio-spatial form. Although the boundaries between them are blurred, the image of both rurality and urbanity is powerfully created in discourses and in everyday debates, justifying daily decisions, thus ignoring the intertwined character of these urban-rural relations. Both crises referred to the importance of motility – in both cases, who could move, where and with what timing was of critical importance. In the case of the pandemic, inequalities in mobility manifested themselves in different spheres – which urban dwellers could move to the countryside (owning a country home is a privilege), who could work remotely (mostly in middle-class jobs) or who could go to a place with limited access (mostly islands or popular domestic tourism areas). In the case of Ukrainians, the ability to move was also critical – it consisted in the very possibility of leaving Ukraine. Even after arriving in Estonia, the fate of the refugees largely depended on the location where they found themselves – either in a big city where it was easy to move with the help of public transport or on foot, or in rural areas where it was more difficult to get around due to the lack of public transportation. During the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the rural cosmopolitanism emerged in Estonia more clearly than before. On the one hand, the ethnic and cultural composition of small places changed almost overnight, and thus rural areas became more diverse. On the other hand, this unexpected challenge showed that the rural cosmopolitan community is in many ways vulnerable and precarious. It is noteworthy that strong cultural constructions of rural people (peaceful, safe) and urban people (dangerous invaders) surfaced in conflict situations. On the other hand, the tensions showed how closely the country and the city are connected through mobility. At the same time, mobilities also affected the daily life of people who did not move. One person’s movement could affect another’s staying put, as well as interpersonal relationships, political decisions, and life arrangements. It can be concluded that rural areas are becoming more hybrid for various reasons, and they are connected to the city through various forms of movement in ways that may go unnoticed at first glance, but which emerge precisely in crisis situations. Crises also highlight the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of these bonds, as well as their strengths. Rural populations and their modes of movement shape everyday practices and infrastructures, just as the image and discursive power of rural areas shapes people’s decisions – both big and small

Negotiating the Past: Some Issues of Transmission of Memories among Estonian Young People

All across Europe, the past has always played a significant role in youth activism and continues to do so, though in different countries the extent of this role may vary. This particular article deals with the question of how the issues of the past resonate in the lives of young people in Estonia. During recent decades, the tensions between hegemonic and alternative pasts have been a source of discursive as well as physical combats among the different socio-cultural groups in Estonia and are often loaded with a political and ideological burden. In 2007, these different understandings peaked with street riots, mostly dominated by young people. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of how young people make sense of the complicated past can tell us also a lot about the reasons behind their political activism (or lack thereof). The article is especially keen on exploring the questions of mechanisms of transmission of memory — how the past is socialised in different contexts (schools, museums, home), and how difficult pasts are dealt with and negotiated in groups of different ethnic and cultural background. By doing so, it will contribute to the theoretical discussions on relations of hegemonic past and communicative memory, how in different cultural contexts the hegemonic past is moulded or contested. It will be argued that young people actively contextualise and rework the matters of the complicated past in their everyday contexts. Neither hegemonic discourse nor the communicative past is absorbed without questions but constantly negotiated. The dataset of this article consists of in-depth individual (84) and group interviews (5) predominantly with young people, but also other meaningful adults in the youngsters’ lives: their parents and grandparents, teachers and the like. In addition, participant observations are used as background data. The sample involves both ethnic Estonians and Russian-speaking minorities

Mis toetab ja takistab noorte uussisserändajate poliitilist osalust?

What supports and hinders the political participation of young new immigrants?AbstractThe article focuses on young new migrants’ - both secondary school and university students - political participation. The paper analyses the meanings informants give to their experiences with integrating and participating in Estonian society, focussing on digital opportunities using evidence from the qualitative interviews . Estonia is a country that has been described as the ‘first digital nation’ with extensive and easy access to e-services but also characterized by limited levels of civic engagement, with discrepancies in participation rates between different groups.New migrants are a rapidly growing group in Estonia. The informants originated or lived during childhood in Europe, the Middle East, North America or Asia. They had been in Estonia for one to five years and had open plans. The article analyzes the formation of attitudes towards the Estonian state and society as well as everyday forms of participation, such as conversations on political topics, digital participation and participation in demonstrations. The access to various e-services and transparency of the state increase trust and encourage participation, on the other hand, state regulations or hostile attitudes towards immigrants create uncertainty and mistrust. The conditions for participating are highly dependent on cultural integration into the host society and social networks in Estonia, which could be better enhanced in digital environments

Multiple faces of conventional political activism: a youth council case study

Youth political participation via state-sponsored institutional settlements has always been considered a goal of youth policies, representing a means of creating politically active and caring citizens. Throughout Europe, however, the number of politically active young people seems to be diminishing, with youth frequently described as apathetic and disengaged. While a growing body of academic research has concentrated on exploring the reasons behind political inactivity, this article explores the motivation and activities of some of the young people who are involved in institutionalised youth organisations, asking if the meanings behind institutional political participation are undergoing a process of change together with the rest of the society. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews, participant observation and analysis of documents (including online communication) collected as part of the research project MYPLACE, we examine the meanings young people attach to their participation. We show that the character of these organisations and motivations behind participation are miscellaneous; sometimes strikingly similar to the forms of participation not traditionally associated with political activism but rather ascribed to disengaged youth

Conceptualising Adulthood in the Transition Society Context – The Case of Estonia

The paper focuses on the conception of adulthood in post-communist Estonia, a society that has undergone vast structural, institutional and cultural changes. To this end, 179 essays written by high school graduates in five Estonian schools are analyzed.1 It is argued that the conceptualisation of adulthood is contextual and young people position and conceptualise themselves in the framework of these changes. Youth in Estonia, like their peers in Western Countries, stress intangible features (such as responsibility, mental maturity, social maturity, freedom) along with measurable transitions (employment, marriage, parenthood) when conceptualising adulthood. However, the meanings behind the concepts differ and are valued differently among respondents. This paper aims to provide a glance into what meanings are given to these perceptions. The most prevalent themes picked up by respondents were institutional transitions, responsibility and social maturity. Such prevalence is plausible, since these features in the transition to adulthood have changed the most in recent decades: the institutional context has changed and measurable transitions have prolonged; the level of individual responsibility in transitions has grown and the society has transformed