Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija

This article contributes to research which covers individual’s willingness to defend their own country. To achieve this end, a case study is undertaken which looks at the Baltic states, with a special focus on the Russian-speaking inhabitants of the region. The mapping out of historical and present day quantitative data corroborates the finding that there is a gap in terms of willingness to defend one’s own country between Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian-speakers on the one hand and Russian-speakers on the other. At the same time, data from two nationally-representative surveys across the Baltics leads one to the conclusion that there are no fundamental differences in reasoning along ethnic and linguistic lines, i.e. why individuals express willingness (not) to defend their own country. Consistent differences can be observed only in some smaller categories which generally mirror trends in contrasting historical memories and the perceptions of domestic and international issues.

This article provides the most comprehensive analysis of the willingness to defend one’s own country in the similar, yet different, Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It reviews the previous research focussing on regularities explaining the willingness to defend the country. This article proceeds with mapping the results of the previous sociological research from the three countries and discusses the results of a nationally representative poll conducted for the purposes of this research. The previous and current data suggests that Estonians are more likely to defend their country, while Latvians and Lithuanians are less keen to do so. In a wider regional and global context, the willingness to defend one’s own country is high in Estonia but low in Lithuania.

Šiame straipsnyje pateikiama išsamiausia pasiryžimo ginti savo šalį analizė panašiose ir kartu skirtingose Baltijos šalyse – Estijoje, Latvijoje ir Lietuvoje. Jame apžvelgiami ankstesni moksliniai tyrimai, kuriuose daugiausia dėmesio skiriama pasiryžimo ginti savo šalį dėsningumo skirtumų aiškinimui. Šiame straipsnyje toliau pateikiami ankstesnių trijų šalių sociologinių tyrimų rezultatai ir aptariami šio tyrimo tikslais atliktos reprezentatyvios šalių apklausos rezultatai. Ankstesni ir dabartiniai duomenys rodo, kad estai labiau linkę ginti savo šalį, o latviai ir lietuviai ne tokie entuziastingi. Platesniame regioniniame ir pasauliniame kontekste Estijos gyventojų pasiryžimas ginti savo šalį yra didelis, o Lietuvos – mažas.