Determining the Rights of Undetermined Citizens in Estonia

This work attempts to shed light on the situation of former citizens of Soviet Union in Estonian society, who as of today have not required citizenship of any state. The leading question is 'how do the Estonian people with undetermined citizenship perceive their ambiguous status, determined by their alien's passport, in comparison to the officially mediated institutional view?' In particular, the research is based on the anthropological fieldwork which was carried out during the month of March 2015 in the Estonian border city of Narva. Hereto, the author's previous internships at the OSCE and UNHCR work in favor of decoding their sphere of influence. During the last few decades, Estonia has moved from the language- and education-based integration plans to a more inclusive course of action as the "Integrating Estonia 2020" clearly proves. It is increasingly acknowledged that technical measures only do not lead to a cohesive society. Social cohesion is based on the milieu, where people have established trust among other fellow citizens and feel that their country is their home, regardless of whether they have the country's citizenship or not.

Autorentext

With a bachelor's degree in Politics and Government from Tallinn University and a master's degree in social and cultural anthropology from the University of Vienna, Marianne sees herself as a highly motivated junior who is personally and professionally closely related to the matters of integration, migration and provision of human rights.