Defining the Nation in a Time of Increasing Migration: The Case of Latvia

As the number of immigrants continues to increase and the country becomes more ethnically diverse, the question of how the country's residents perceive what a nation is becomes relevant. Is the nation conceived of as having an ethnic core or as uniting different ethnic groups on a more or less equal basis? It is a question of the symbolic meaning and collective emotions of different ethnic groups. It is also a question of whose identity is highlighted to form a national identity. It is also a matter of communication, because in order to build a collective identity, there must be a common language to create a common information space for all citizens.

In the paper, this issue is addressed on the example of Latvia, where the titular nation makes up only 63% of the population, and the strengthening of the role of the national language is still an urgent issue. The basis of the analysis is representative survey data of the entire population of Latvia, where the answers to the questions of surveys conducted in 2010 and 2024 are compared. At the centre of the analysis is the question of which groups make up the Latvian people.

The analysis shows that ethnic Latvians are more in favour of drawing boundaries regarding which population groups should be considered as belonging to the Latvian nation, compared to Russians and representatives of other ethnic groups living in Latvia. However, it should be emphasized that not only ethnicity, but also citizenship, a sense of belonging to the country and Latvian language skills are among the most important principles of national belonging from the point of view of Latvians.