Lithuania

Lithuania PDF Author: Thomas Lane
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134499353
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Lithuania restored her independence, after half a century of Soviet occupation, in the immediate aftermath of the failed Moscow coup in August 1991. As the multi-national Soviet state disintegrated, Lithuania evolved, without war or violence, from a communist state and a command economy to a liberal democracy, a free market, and a society guaranteeing human and minority rights. Lithuania therefore offers a notable example of peaceful transition, all the more impressive in the light of the bloody conflict elsewhere in the former Soviet Union of Yugoslavia, where the aspirations to independence of the constituent republics were either violently resisted or dissolved into inter-ethnic violence. Equally remarkable has been Lithuania's determination to 'return to Europe' after half a century of separation, even at the price of submerging its recently restored sovereign rights in the supranational European Union. The cost of membership in western economic and security organizations are judged to be worth paying to prevent Lithuania's being drawn once again into a putative Russian sphere of influence. On the threshold of a new millennium therefore, Lithuania has made a pragmatic accommodation to the demands of becoming a modern European state, whilst vigorously resisting the dilution of her rich cultural and historical traditions. These twin themes of accommodation and resistance are Lithuania's historical legacy to the current generations of Lithuanians as they integrate into European institutions and continue the modernization process.

Lithuania

Lithuania PDF Author: Thomas Lane
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134499353
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Get Book Here

Book Description
Lithuania restored her independence, after half a century of Soviet occupation, in the immediate aftermath of the failed Moscow coup in August 1991. As the multi-national Soviet state disintegrated, Lithuania evolved, without war or violence, from a communist state and a command economy to a liberal democracy, a free market, and a society guaranteeing human and minority rights. Lithuania therefore offers a notable example of peaceful transition, all the more impressive in the light of the bloody conflict elsewhere in the former Soviet Union of Yugoslavia, where the aspirations to independence of the constituent republics were either violently resisted or dissolved into inter-ethnic violence. Equally remarkable has been Lithuania's determination to 'return to Europe' after half a century of separation, even at the price of submerging its recently restored sovereign rights in the supranational European Union. The cost of membership in western economic and security organizations are judged to be worth paying to prevent Lithuania's being drawn once again into a putative Russian sphere of influence. On the threshold of a new millennium therefore, Lithuania has made a pragmatic accommodation to the demands of becoming a modern European state, whilst vigorously resisting the dilution of her rich cultural and historical traditions. These twin themes of accommodation and resistance are Lithuania's historical legacy to the current generations of Lithuanians as they integrate into European institutions and continue the modernization process.

Lithuania in European Politics

Lithuania in European Politics PDF Author: Alfonsas Eidintas
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312172329
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
At the start of the 20th century, little thought was given to Lithuania as important to the larger political arena. During the time between the two World Wars, Lithuania drew attention as it won--and then lost--independent statehood. The authors here reveal how this small country, caught at the intersection of Europe's great powers, was compelled to follow a foreign policy of survival.

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: Country Studies

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: Country Studies PDF Author: Walter Iwaskiw
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781490435572
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
This volume is one in a continuing series of books prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. This volume is about Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Lithuania

Lithuania PDF Author: V. Stanley Vardys
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429967713
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
This book explores Lithuania's pagan ancestry and epochal struggles with Germanic and Russian states and examines Lithuania's struggle with the legacy of Soviet rule as it strives to establish democracy and economic prosperity.

Lithuanian Chicago

Lithuanian Chicago PDF Author: Justin G. Riskus
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 0738598542
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
Today, there are more than 100,000 Lithuanians in Chicago, making the city home to the greatest concentration of Lithuanians outside of the country itself. Their presence in Chicago began in 1834 and drastically increased during the 20th century as immigrants and their descendants sought work in the stockyards and other industries. Lithuanians in Chicago were dedicated to celebrating and preserving their unique culture, evident in its churches, schools, museums, and community centers in neighborhoods such as Bridgeport and Marquette Park. They also maintained ties to the homeland and played an important role in Lithuania's struggles for independence throughout the 20th century. Many prominent Lithuanian Americans are from the "City of the Big Shoulders," including football great Dick Butkus, actor John C. Reilly, and director Robert Zemeckis. The former president of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, was a resident of Chicagoland for nearly 50 years.

Foreign Policy Analysis of a Baltic State

Foreign Policy Analysis of a Baltic State PDF Author: Tomas Janeliūnas
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780367675806
Category : Lithuania
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Lithuanian foreign policy by employing the theory of small states and the agent-perspective to assess how President Dalia Grybauskaite impacted Lithuanian foreign policy in 2009-2019 and which, in turn, could affect changes in international structures. The book is based on original interviews with Grybauskaite and all her foreign policy advisors, as well as other Lithuanian diplomats and Ministers of Foreign Affairs. In addition to providing an important case study of Lithuanian foreign policy, this monograph also discusses the impact an agent formulating and executing small-state foreign policy may have on the 'grand structures' of international relations, such as the EU and NATO. For its investigation of the mutual relationship between agent and structure, this monograph draws on the literature on foreign policy analysis (FPA) and asks questions about the extent to which a particular leader of foreign policy may determine a specific policy decision or outcome. This book will be of particular interest to students of the Baltic region and Russia-Baltic relations, as well as to political scientists and researchers interested in FPA literature, and small-state security.

1939

1939 PDF Author: Šarūnas Liekis
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9042027622
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
"This gripping and well-documented account of the history of the town of Vilnius and its surrounding region from the Polish ultimatum of March 1938, which forced Lithuania to open diplomatic relations with Poland, to the incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union in June 1940 is set against the evolution of Lithuania's relations with her neighbours during this crucial period. It is a major contribution to the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the subsequent evolution of Nazi Soviet relations. Prof. Liekis presents a remarkable history based on archival sources never before utilized in any English-language study. In revealing the geopolitical, ideological, economic, social and ethnic dimensions of an immense tragedy in the heart of Europe, the author provides a new perspective on the unraveling of a society and nation during the initial days of World War II as prelude to the most violent period in European history."--Publisher's description.

The Baltic Nations and Europe

The Baltic Nations and Europe PDF Author: John Hiden
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317890574
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Of all the Soviet Union's subject nationalities, the three Baltic republics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, were the most determined and best organised in seizing the opportunities created by glasnost and perestroika to win freedom from Moscow's grip. At the time of first publication, in 1991, the final section of the book was speculative. Now for this revised edition, the authors have provided a new final chapter which brings the story up to date -- and the three republics to political independence again.

War, Revolution, and Nation-making in Lithuania, 1914-1923

War, Revolution, and Nation-making in Lithuania, 1914-1923 PDF Author: Tomas Balkelis
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199668027
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
In this book, Tomas Balkelis explores how the Lithuanian state was created and shaped by the Great War from its onset in 1914 to the last waves of violence in 1923. As the very notion of independent Lithuania was constructed during the war, violence is seen as an essential part of the formation of Lithuanian state, nation, and identity. War was much more than simply the historical context in which the tectonic shift from empire to nation-state took place. It transformed people, policies, institutions, and modes of thought in ways that would continue to shape the nation for decades after the conflict subsided. In telling the story of the post-WWI conflict in Lithuania, War, Revolution, and Nation-Making in Lithuania, 1914-1923 focuses on the soldiers and civilians involved in the conflict, rather than the strategies and acts of politicians, generals, or diplomats. The volume's two main themes are the impact of military, social, and cultural mobilizations on the local population, and different types of violence that were so characteristic of the region throughout the period. The actors in this story are people displaced by war and mobilized for war: refugees, veterans, volunteers, peasant conscripts, POWs, paramilitary fighters, and others who took to guns, not diplomacy, to assert their power. This is the story of how their lives were changed by war and how they shaped the society that emerged after war.

The Baltic States

The Baltic States PDF Author: Thomas Lane
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113648311X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 708

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Book Description
Since the end of the Cold War there has been an increased interest in the Baltics. The Baltic States brings together three titles, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to provide a comprehensive and analytical guide integrating history, political science, economic development and contemporary events into one account. Since gaining their independence, each country has developed at its own pace with its own agenda and facing its own obstacles. The authors examine the tensions accompanying a post-communist return to Europe after the long years of separation and how each country has responded to the demands of becoming a modern European state. Estonia was the first of the former Soviet republics to enter membership negotiations with the European Union in 1988 and is a potential candidate for the next round of EU expansion in 2004. Lithuania and Latvia have also expressed their desire for future membership of NATO and the EU.