Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T21:12:48.628Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Negotiating gendered transnationalism and nationalism in post-socialist Latvia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Mara Lazda
Mara Lazda*
Affiliation:
Department of History, Bronx Community College, The City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
*
*Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article examines how gender equality activists in postsocialist Latvia negotiate national and transnational frameworks in their campaigns. The case study for this analysis is the 15-year evolution of one gender equality non-governmental organization (NGO), the Resource Center for Women, Marta, in Riga. RCW Malta's work has resulted in significant steps in policy reform and broader social awareness regarding questions of gender equality. In doing so, it bridges essentialist, patriarchal conceptions of the Latvian nation-state and a transnational European feminist narrative. The experience of RCW Marta affirms the continued relevance of the nation, though a redefined one, within transnationalism, which in turn contributes to a rethinking of post-socialism as a spatial and analytic category.

Keywords

nationalismtransnationalismNGOsgenderdemocratizationpost-socialismLatvia
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 422 - 440
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Nams, Baltijas Datu. 2000. Nabadzības feminizācija: Riskafaktoru maina Latvija no 1991. līdz 1999. gadam [The Feminization of Poverty: Changes in Risk Factors from 1991 to 1999]. Accessed August 15, 2016. http://providus.lv/article_files/2032/original/nabadzfem.pdf?1342702032.Google Scholar
“Biography of Dr. Vaira Vīke-Freiberga.” 2007. Latvijas Valsts Prezidents [President of the Republic of Latvia]. Accessed August 15, 2016. http://www.president.lv/pk/content/?cat_id=16&lng=en.Google Scholar
Brands Kehris, Ilze. 2010. “Citizenship, Participation and Representation.” In How Integrated Is Latvian Society? An Audit of Achievements, Failures and Challenges, edited by Muižnieks, Nils, 93–104. Riga: University of Latvia Press.Google Scholar
Briggs, Laura, McCormick, Gladys, and Way, J. T. 2008. “Transnationalism: A Category of Analysis.” American Quarterly 60 (3): 625–648.Google Scholar
Central Bureau of Statistics (Latvia). (n.d.). Iedzīvotāji un Sociālie Procesi [Inhabitants and Social Processes]. Accessed August 15, 2016. http://data.csb.gov.lv/pxweb/lv/Sociala/?rxid=Cdcb978c-22b0-416a-aacc-aa650d3e2ce0.Google Scholar
Central Election Commission of Latvia. 2014. Saiemas Vēlēšanas [Saeimas Elections]. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.cvk.lv/pub/public/30803.html.Google Scholar
Cerwonka, Allaine. 2008. “Traveling Feminist Thought: Difference and Transculturation in Central and Eastern European Feminism.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 33 (4): 809–832.Google Scholar
Chari, Sharad, and Verdery, Katherine. 2009. “Thinking Between the Posts: Postcolonialism, Postsocialism, and Ethnography after the Cold War.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 51 (1): 6–34.Google Scholar
Cleuziou, Juliette, and Direnberger, Lucia. 2016. “Gender and Nation in Post-Soviet Central Asia: From National Narratives to Women's Practices.” Nationalities Papers 44 (2): 195–206.Google Scholar
Dean, Laura A. 2014. “Beyond the Natasha Effect: Determinants of Human Trafficking Policy Variation in the Post-Soviet Region.” PhD diss., University of Kansas.Google Scholar
Eglitis, Daina Stukuls. 2002. Imagining the Nation: History, Modernity and Revolution in Latvia. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.Google Scholar
Ezergailis, Andrew. 1996. Holocaust in Latvia, 1941–1944: The Missing Center. Riga/Washington, DC: Historical Institute of Latvia/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.Google Scholar
Fábián, Katalin, ed. 2010a. Domestic Violence in Post-Communist States: Local Activism, National Politics, and Global Forces. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Fábián, Katalin. 2010b. “Open Societies? Connections Between Women's Activism, Globalization and Democracy in Eastern and Central Europe.” The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations: Annual Review 9 (6): 119–130.Google Scholar
Fábián, Katalin. 2013. “How Have Postcommunist States Negotiated the Norms and Policies of Domestic Violence? Trends and Exceptions of the Baltic Region.” Paper presented at Peace Science Studies-International Studies Association Joint International Conference. Security Challenges in an Evolving World, June 27–29.Google Scholar
Fábián, Katalin. 2014. “Disciplining the Second World: The Relationship Between Transnational and Local Forces in Contemporary Hungarian Women's Social Movements.” East European Politics 30:1–20.Google Scholar
Fuchs, Gesine, and Hinterhuber, Eva Maria. 2015. “Introduction: Complex Interrelations of Gender Politics in Eastern Europe.” Femina Politica 24 (2): 1–16.Google Scholar
Funk, Nanette. 1993. “Feminism East and West.” In Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflections from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, edited by Funk, Nanette and Mueller, Magda, 318–330. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Funk, Nanette. 2006. “Women's NGOs in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union: The Imperialist Criticism.” Femina Politica 1:68–83.Google Scholar
Funk, Nanette. 2007. “Fifteen Years of the East-West Women's Dialogue.” In Living Gender after Communism, edited by Johnson, Janet Elise and Robinson, Jean C., 203–226. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Funk, Nanette, and Mueller, Magda, eds. 1993. Gender Politics and Post-Communism: Reflections from Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gal, Susan, and Kligman, Gail. 2000. The Politics of Gender after Socialism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ghodsee, Kristen. 2004. “Feminism-by-Design: Emerging Capitalisms, Cultural Feminism, and Women's Nongovernmental Organizations in Postsocialist Eastern Europe.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 29 (3): 727–753.Google Scholar
Ginkel, John. 2002. “Identity Construction in Latvia's ”Singing Revolution“: Why Interethnic Conflict Failed to Occur.” Nationalities Papers 30 (2): 403–433.Google Scholar
Guenther, Katja. 2011. “The Possibilities and Pitfalls of NGO Feminism: Insights from Postsocialist Eastern Europe.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 36 (4): 863–887.Google Scholar
Hauka, Evija. 2010. “Pērc meiteni, maksā nodokli un Latvija bus glābta.” [Buy a Girl, Pay a Tax, and Latvia Will Be Saved.] Kas Jauns [What's New], July 9. Accessed July 15, 2016. http://www.kasjauns.lv/lv/zinas/24214/perc-meiteni-maksa-nodokli-un-lv-bus-glabta.Google Scholar
Heinrich Böll Foundation. 2015. Anti-gender Movements on the Rise? Strategising for Gender Equality in Eastern and Central Europe. Grossbeeren: Arnold Stiftung. Accessed August 20, 2016. https://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/2015-04-anti-gender-movements-on-the-rise.pdf.Google Scholar
Hemment, Julie. 2007. Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Herr, Ranjoo Seodu. 2003. “The Possibility of Nationalist Feminism.” Hypatia 18 (3): 135–160.Google Scholar
Herr, Ranjoo Seodu. 2014. “Reclaiming Third World Feminism: Or Why Transnational Feminism Needs Third World Feminism.” Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 12 (1): 1–30.Google Scholar
Hladik, Radim. 2011. “A Theory's Travelogue: Postcolonial Theory in Post-Socialist Space.” Theory of Science [Teory Vedy] 33 (4): 561–590. Accessed January 22, 2016. http://teorievedy.flu.cas.cz/index.php/tv/article/view/139/140.Google Scholar
International Organization for Migration. 2001. Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Baltic States: Social and Legal Aspects. Helsinki. Accessed April 7, 2017. http://cilvektirdznieciba.lv/data/Files/macibspekiem/prostitution.pdf.Google Scholar
Ismailbekova, Aksana. 2016. “Constructing the Authority of Women Through Custom: Bulak Village, Kyrgyzstan.” Nationalities Papers 44 (2): 266–280.Google Scholar
Ivancheva, Mariya. 2015. “‘The Spirit of the Law’: Mobilizing and/or Professionalizing the Women's Movement in Post-Socialist Bulgaria.” In Mobilizing for Policy Change: Women's Movements in Central and Eastern European Domestic Violence, edited by Krizsan, Andrea, 45–84. Budapest: Central European University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Janet Elise. 2009. Gender Violence in Russia: The Politics of Feminist Intervention. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Johnson, Janet Elise, and Robinson, Jean C., eds. 2007. Living Gender after Communism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Karklins, Rasma. 1994. Ethnopolitics and the Transition to Democracy: The Collapse of the USSR and Latvia. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Karnīte, A. 2014. Narkotikas Lietojošās Prostitūcijā Iesaistītas Sievietes Latvija [Narcotics Use byGoogle Scholar
Women Involved in Prostitution in Latvia]. Riga: SIF. Accessed August 15, 2016. http://www.papardeszieds.lv/attachments/396_WEDworks_WS2_RAR%20country%20report_Latvia_LV_final.pdf.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret E., and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Konkurss no Centra Marta [Contest from the Marta Center]. 2012. Draugiem.lv. Accessed March 25, 2017. http://www.draugiem.lv/latvijasprodukts/news/post/Konkurss-no-centra-MARTA_8494399.Google Scholar
Korol̦va, Ilze. 1994. “Young Women's Attitude Towards Work: Options, Opportunities and Reality.” In Women of Latvia 75: Researches [sic], Statistics, Reminiscences, 20–39. Riga: Zvaigzne.Google Scholar
Korol̦va, Ilze, and Trapenciere, Ilze. 1992. “Īss Vēsturisks Ieskats: Daži Dati un Skaitl̦i par Sievietēm Latvijā.” [A Short Historical Overview: Some Facts and Numbers about Women in Latvia.] In Sievietes Cel̦ā [Women on Their Way], edited by Ilze Korol̦va, 235–242. Riga: Latvijas Zinātn̦u Akadēmijas Filozofljas un Sociolog̒y as Instituts.Google Scholar
Kováts, Eszter, and Põim, Maari, eds. 2015. Gender as Symbolic Glue: The Position and Role of Conservative and Far Right Parties in the Anti-gender Mobilizations in Europe. Brussels: Foundation for European Progressive Studies and Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung. Accessed January 4, 2017. http://library.fes.de/pdffiles/bueros/budapest/11382.pdf.Google Scholar
Kostenecka, Marina. 2012. Vēstules no mājam [Letters from Home]. Translated by Maija Kudapa. Riga: Jumava.Google Scholar
Lamoreaux, Jeremy W., and Galbreath, David J. 2008. “The Baltic States as ”Small States“: Negotiating the ”East“ by Engaging the ”West“.” Journal of Baltic Studies 39 (1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Lang, Sabine. 2012. NGOs, Civil Society, and the Public Sphere. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Latvijas Produkts [Product of Latvia]. 2017. Accessed April 6, 2017. http://www.latvijasprodukts.lv.Google Scholar
Latvijas Republikas Saeimas Deputātu Skaits pēc Dzimuma [Gender Representation of Ministers in the Parliament of the Latvian Republic]. 2013. Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia. Accessed January 8, 2016. http://www.lm.gov.lv/upload/dzimumu_lidztiesiba/situacija_latvija/politika.pdf.Google Scholar
Lazda, Mara. 2009. “Reconsidering Nationalism: The Baltic Case of Latvia in 1989.” International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 22:517–536.Google Scholar
LU Dzimtes Studiju Centrs [LU Gender Studies Center]. University of Latvia. 2015. Accessed January 10, 2016. http://www.lu.lv/par/strukt/studiju-centri/dzimtes-studiju-centrs/.Google Scholar
Luksa, Mudite. 2014. “Pagaidu Aizsardzība pret Vardarbību: Mājas jāatstaj Varmākam.” [Temporary Protection Against Violence: Perpetrator Must Leave Home.] Latvijas Vēstneša portāls: Par Likumu un Valsti [Latvian Herald Portal: About Law and State], March 31. Accessed June 29, 2016. http://www.lvportals.lv/print.php?id=261934.Google Scholar
Lūse, Lolita. 2010. “Prostitūcija Latvijā: Problēmas un Risinājumi.” [Prostitution in Latvia: Problems and Solutions.] Latvijas Vēstneša Portāls: Par Likumu un Valsti [Latvian Herald Portal: About Law and State], March 19. Accessed August 10, 2016. http://m.lvportals.lv/visi/likumi-prakse/206804-prostitucija-latvija-problemas-un-risinajumi/.Google Scholar
Marthaförbundet. Accessed August 20, 2016. http://martha.fi/sv/kontakt/english/.Google Scholar
Martyn-Hemphill, Richard, and Doerbeck, Donna. 2015. “Anti-Refugee Rally Takes on Latvian Government.” Baltic Times, August 5. Accessed January 27, 2016. http://www.baltictimes.com/anti-refugee_rally_takes_on_latvian_government_26807166755c21627948b7/.Google Scholar
Ilmārs, Mežs. 1994. Latvieši Latvijā: Etnodemogrāfisks Apskats [Latvians in Latvia: An Ethnographic View]. Riga: Zinātne.Google Scholar
Mikelsone, Māra. 2013. “Trešās Atmodas Kurinātāji.” [Stokers of the Fire of Third Awakening.] Ir, October 7. Accessed January 28, 2016. http://www.irlv.lv/2013/10/7/tresas-atmodas-kurinataji.Google Scholar
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. 2014. Iluta Lāce Honored at the Finnish Embassy. Embassy of Finland, Riga. Accessed August 14, 2016. http://www.finland.lv/public/default.aspx?contentid=315254&nodeid=38432&culture=en-US.Google Scholar
Monden, Christiaan W. S., and Smits, Jeroen. 2005. “Ethnic Intermarriage in Times of Social Change: The Case of Latvia.” Demography 42 (2): 323–345.Google Scholar
Muižnieks, Nils. 2006. “Government Policy and the Russian Minority.” In Russians and Russian-Latvian Relations, edited by Muižnieks, Nils, 11–21. Riga: Latvijas Universitāte.Google Scholar
Neimanis, Astrida. 1999. Gender and Human Development in Latvia. Riga: UNDP. Accessed February 10, 2016. http://providus.lv/article_files/1482/original/Gender_EN.pdf?1331712295.Google Scholar
Novikova, Irina. 2006. “Gender Equality in Latvia: Achievements and Challenges.” In Women and Citizenship in Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Lukić, Jasmina, Regulska, Joanna, and Zaviršek, Darja, 101–120. New York: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Owczarzak, Jill. 2009. “Introduction: Postcolonial Studies and Postsocialism in Eastern Europe.” Focaal – European Journal of Anthropology (53): 3–19. Accessed August 20, 2016. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2907893/.Google Scholar
Pabriks, Artism, and Purs, Aldis. 2001. Latvia: The Challenges of Change. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Pares Hoare, Joanna. 2016. “Doing Gender Activism in a Donor-organized Framework: Constraints and Opportunities in Kyrgyzstan.” Nationalities Papers 44 (2): 281–298.Google Scholar
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations. 2015. Integration Policy in Latvia: A Multifaceted Approach. Accessed April 8, 2017. http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/newyork/society-integration/integration-policy-in-latvia-a-multi-faceted-approach.Google Scholar
Pilsonības un Migrācijas Lietu Pārvalde [Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs]. 2011. Pētijums: Nepilsonu Viedoklis par Latvijas Pilsonības Iegūšanu [Study: The Perspective of Non-Citizens on Acquiring Latvian Citizenship]. Accessed August 20, 2016. http://www.pmlp.gov.lv/lv/sakums/jaunumi/publikacijas/petijumi/lejupieladet-petijumu-(pdf).pdf.Google Scholar
Pitcher, M. Anne, and Askew, Kelly M. 2006. “African Socialisms and Postsocialisms.” Africa 76 (1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Plakans, Andrejs. 1995. Latvians: A Short History. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press.Google Scholar
Rajkai, Zsombor. 2015. “Introduction.” In Family and Social Change in Socialist and Post-socialist Societies: Continuity and Change in Eastern Europe and East Asia, edited by Rajkai, Zombor, 1–16. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Rastrigina, Olga. 2015. The Policy on Gender Equality in Latvia: In-depth Analysis for the FEMM Committee. Brussels: European Parliament. Accessed August 1, 2016. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/510008/IPOL_IDA(2015)510008_EN.pdf.Google Scholar
“Reirs Latvijas vārdā” paraksta Stambulas konvenciju.“ [Reirs signs the Istanbul Convention in Latvia's Name.] 2016. Portāls nra.lv, May 18. Accessed August 10, 2016. http://nra.lv/latvija/172817-reirs-latvijas-varda-paraksta-stambulas-konvenciju.htm.Google Scholar
Republic of Latvia Ministry of Welfare. 2010. Rīkojums par Dzimumu līdztiesības komitejas izveidi [Order to Establish the Committee on Gender Equality], May 10. Accessed June 19, 2016. http://www.lm.gov.lv/upload/dzimumu_lidztiesiba/dz_lidzt_rikojums2.pdf.Google Scholar
Rogers, Douglas. 2010. “Postsocialisms Unbound: Connections, Critiques, Comparisons.” Slavic Review 69 (1): 1–15.Google Scholar
Roth, Silke. 2007. “Sisterhood and Solidarity? Women's Organizations in the Expanded European Union.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State, and Society 14 (4): 460–487.Google Scholar
Rozenvalds, Juris. 2010. “The Soviet Heritage and Integration Policy Development since the Restoration of Independence.” In How Integrated Is Latvian Society? An Audit of Achievements, Failures and Challenges, edited by Muižnieks, Nils, 33–60. Riga: University of Latvia Press.Google Scholar
Ruddick, Sara. 1989. Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace. New York: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
Rudenshiold, Eric. 1992. “Ethnic Dimensions in Contemporary Latvian Politics: Focusing Forces for Change.” Soviet Studies 44 (4): 609–639.Google Scholar
Rudevska, Baiba. 2016. Juridiskā analīze par Eiropas Padomes Konvencijas par vardarbības pret sievietēm un vardarbības g̒imenē novēršanu un apkarošanu iespējamo ietekmi uz Latvijas tiesību sistēmu [Juridical Analysis of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence Influence on Latvia's Legal System]. Ingas Kačevskas birojs [Office of Inga Kačevska], April 25. Accessed April 8, 2017. https://www.tm.gov.lv/lv/aktualitates/tm-informacija-presei/juridiska-analize-par-stambulas-konvencijas-iespejamo-ietekmi-uz-latvijas-tiesibu-sistemu.Google Scholar
Rungule, Ritma. 1995. “Padomju Latvijas Sieviete Sabidrībā un Manī.” [The Soviet Latvian Woman in Society and Within Me.] Jaunā Gaita [New Way], 200. Accessed August 20, 2016. http://jaunagaita.net/jg200/JG200%20Janelsina-Rungule.htm.Google Scholar
Šaca-Marjaša, Ruta. 2013. Mans Atmin̦u Kaleidoskops [My Kaleidoscope of Memories]. Translated by Amand Aizpuriete. Riga: Jumava.Google Scholar
Scott, Joan Wallach. 1999. Gender and the Politics of History. Rev. ed. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Šmejkalova-Strickland, Jirina. 1995. “Revival? Gender Studies in the ”Other Europe“.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 20 (4): 1000–1006.Google Scholar
Šmidchens, Guntis. 2013. The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution. Seattle: University of Washington Press.Google Scholar
Stenning, Alison, and Hörschelmann, Kathrin. 2008. “History, Geography and Difference in the Post-Socialist World: Or, Do We Still Need Post-Socialism?” Antipode 40 (2): 312–335.Google Scholar
Strods, Heinrihs. 1993. “Septītā pl̦auja (1940–1949).” [Seventh Harvest (1940-1949).] In Via Dolorosa: Stalinisma Upuru Liecības [Via Dolorosa: Testimonies of Stalin's Victims], Vol. 2, edited by Anda Līca, 10-20. Riga: Liesma.Google Scholar
Strods, Heinrihs. 1995. “Genocida galvenās formas un mērk̦i Latvijā 1940–1985.” [The Main Forms and Goals of Genocide in Latvia 1940–1985.] In Via Dolorosa: Stalinisma Upuru Liecības [Via Dolorosa: Testimonies of Stalin's Victims], Vol. 3, edited by Anda Līca, 9–26. Riga: Preses Nams.Google Scholar
Suchland, Jennifer. 2011. “Is Postsocialism Transnational?” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 36 (1): 837–862.Google Scholar
Ticktin, Miriam. 2011. “The Gendered Human of Humanitarianism: Medicalising and Politicising Sexual Violence.” Gender & History 23 (2): 250–265.Google Scholar
Watson, Peggy. 1993. “Eastern Europe's Silent Revolution.” Sociology 27 (3): 471–487.Google Scholar
Watson, Peggy. 2000. “Rethinking Transition: Globalism, Gender, and Class.” International Feminist Journal of Politics 2 (2): 185–213.Google Scholar
Weiner, Elaine. 2009. “Dirigism and Deja Vu Logic.” European Journal of Women's Studies 16 (1): 211–228.Google Scholar
Zak̦e, leva. 1997. “The Latvian Press and Violence Against Women in the Context of Gender Equality.” In Invitation to Dialogue: Beyond Gender (In)equality, edited by Korotl̦eva, Ilze, 56–68. Riga: Institute of Philosophy and Sociology.Google Scholar
Zarin̦a, Inna. 2001. “Trafficking in Women: A Perspective from Latvia.” In Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Baltic States: Social and Legal Aspects, edited by International Organization for Migration, 201–276. Helsinki: International Organization for Migration.Google Scholar