The Baltic States and their Russian-speaking minorities

Since the collapse of the USSR, confusions about identity and the experience of having differing legal rights depending on how one identifies oneself as one moves across the borders of newly emerged states, have led me tothe strong conviction that despite modern states' official commitment to UN Human Rights' principles, in reality one's human rights continue to depend on one's nationality or race, or even political beliefs. Using the example of Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic States, this issue of insecurity and a dependence for one's human rights on a given society's perceptions and laws - that are themselves often continuously re-evaluated and renegotiated - is the subject I examine in this dissertation.

Autorentext

The author completed his dissertation for Master in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney in 2011. His major research interests are in geopolitics and the post-communism transition of countries of the former Soviet Union. This dissertation explores the human rights issues facing Russian-speaking minorities in the Baltic States.