War in the Ukraine: Baltic States National Identity and Anxiety

• In Event: Public Support for War, Peace, Violence, and Compromise

Abstract

How do constructed identities influence opinion toward international actors' performance in handling the war in Ukraine? Multiple international actors are involved, whether for good or bad, in the situation that has been unfolding in Ukraine. This support has come through factors such as sending troops and armaments or through other means of support—this support has either been for the Ukrainians or the Russians. Either way, identity and whom individuals identify with is a salient factor. When we think about how this crisis is unfolding conceptualizing the role of European Identity compared to that of National Identity in the Baltic States will help us better understand the perceptions other nations have of other states involved in the war. Because entities like NATO are based on the inclusion of nation-states rather than the entirety of the European Union, national identity, and the way one feels about their nation may be a more important factor in how individuals perceive outsider actors’ response to the war in Ukraine. Both national and European identities are forms of constructed identities, however, because proximity to threat will be relevant to those closer to the war this should result in identity dominance in which national identity is more salient than European identity. I argue that because threat activates a dominant national identity, national identity is an important factor in how nations proximate to the war perceive external actors. This can be seen by examining the cases of Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, France, and Germany and their satisfaction with how the European Union, United States, NATO, and the United Nations have handled the war in Ukraine. I examine this utilizing survey data from the Flash Eurobarometer 506 from April 2022 (European Commission 2022).

Author

• Autumn Perkey, University of Maryland, College Park