Kreinin, Lea (2018) Estonians in Scotland. From isolation to transnational ways of living? PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/8998/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] Estonians in Scotland. From isolation to transnational ways of living? Lea Kreinin MA in Estonian and Finno-Ugric Linguistics Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social and Political Sciences College of Social Sciences University of Glasgow September 2017 ii Abstract After the Second World War, the Estonian community grew considerably in the UK. Great Britain became the first and largest state in Western Europe to welcome war refugees stranded in Germany, out of whom a small number of so-called European Voluntary Workers of Estonian origin also ended up in Scotland. The second wave of migration from Estonia started shortly after Estonia became independent, and grew larger after Estonia’s EU-accession in 2004. While the first group were practically cut off from their Estonian roots during the Soviet occupation, the second group have been able to maintain close ties with their homeland. In the academic literature on migration, diaspora and transnationalism have often been considered as direct opposites – the first concept is usually applied on the pre-Internet time exile communities, while the second one is used most often while talking about the situation in time of globalisation. In Scotland, however, the experience of an Estonian diaspora in its classical meaning, due to the scattered location and small number of Estonians living here, is highly contested. This study draws on wider research on these two communities, using mainly qualitative interviews with 54 recipients. These two communities from two different eras vary in many ways, as one would expect. However, their experiences on a micro-level are often surprisingly similar – at the individual level, the experience of moving abroad and settling in, as well as ties and networks between compatriots do not really differ. I will discuss the possibilities of using a theoretical toolkit of transnationalism for looking at both migration waves from Estonia, therefore. This research looks at social networks amongst Estonians in Scotland, their adaption, identity and different markers of identity, their home-making strategies and further plans (staying and leaving). Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... xiii Author’s declaration .......................................................................................................... xiv 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Research questions ........................................................................................................... 12 1.2 The context of this study .................................................................................................. 14 1.3 Previous research on Estonian migration in Scotland ...................................................... 15 1.4 The structure of the thesis ................................................................................................ 19 2. Migration studies ................................................................................................... 22 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Short overview of the history of migration studies .......................................................... 23 2.2.1 Determinants, patterns and processes of migration ................................................ 24 2.2.2 Migrant experiences in incorporating into receiving societies. Old models and transnationalism ....................................................................................................................... 28 2.3 Social networks and (social) media ................................................................................... 30 2.4 Globalisation, diaspora and transnationalism .................................................................. 33 2.5 Focus moves towards individual migrants’ personal experience ..................................... 40 2.6 Transnational social ties and types of transmigrants ....................................................... 42 2.7 Ethnicity and Identity ........................................................................................................ 44 2.8 Concept of home and belonging ....................................................................................... 47 2.9 Migration research in UK and Scotland ............................................................................ 50 2.10 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 56 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................... 59 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 58 3.2 Quantitative and qualitative sources. Chosen methods ................................................... 58 3.3 Ethical considerations ....................................................................................................... 61 3.4 My position as a researcher .............................................................................................. 62 3.5 Finding research participants ............................................................................................ 65 3.6 Gender and age proportions ............................................................................................. 66 3.7 Selecting places for interviewing ...................................................................................... 67 3.8 Stages of interviewing ....................................................................................................... 69 3.9 Language of interviewing .................................................................................................. 71 ix 3.10 Transcribing process ......................................................................................................... 71 3.11 Analysis of interview data ................................................................................................. 72 3.12 Other issues and questions ............................................................................................... 73 4. Estonian migration in the World and Estonians in the UK ...................................... 75 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 75 4.2 Historical migration from Estonia ..................................................................................... 75 4.3 Estonians as displaced persons after the Second World War .......................................... 77 4.4 Repatriations and migrating further to the West ............................................................. 79 4.5 Contacts with homeland ................................................................................................... 81 4.6 Estonian communities abroad nowadays ......................................................................... 81 4.7 Estonians in the UK ........................................................................................................... 82 4.7.1 Migration literature about Estonians in the UK ........................................................ 82 4.7.2 Estonian emigration waves to the UK ....................................................................... 83 4.7.3 Earlier data about Estonians in the UK ..................................................................... 84 4.7.4 Estonians in the UK after the Second World War ..................................................... 86 4.7.5 War refugees or economic migrants? ....................................................................... 90 4.7.6 Negative attitudes towards EVWs and their downward social mobility .................. 91 4.7.7 Migrating further ...................................................................................................... 91 4.7.8 Estonian community in the UK today ....................................................................... 92 4.7.9 Estonian social life and organisations in the UK ....................................................... 93 4.8 Estonians in Scotland .......................................................................................................