Explaining Civil Society Core Activism in Post-Soviet Latvia Tove Lindén Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations No. 2 3 EXPLAINING CIVIL SOCIETY CORE ACTIVISM IN POST -SOVIET LATVIA TOVE LINDÉN Stockholm University ©Tove Lindén, Stockholm 2008 Stockholm Studies in Politics 123 ISBN (978-91-7155-585-4) ISSN (0346-6620) Södertörn Doctoral Dissertations 23 ISBN (978-91-89315-79-2) ISSN (1652-7399) Södertörn Political Studies 2 ISBN (978-91-89315-79-2) ISSN (1653-8269) Printed in Sweden by Intellecta AB, Västra Frölunda 2008 Distributed by:Stockholm University, Department of Political Science/Södertörn Univer- sity College Library. To my grandmother Margit with love! To all strong and enduring women in Latvia. Contents List of figures and tables ............................................................................. xi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................xiii 1. A Study of Civil Society Core Activism .................................................... 1 1.1 Aim and Research Question ................................................................................... 1 1.2 Why Civil Society Activism? .................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Civil Society Organizations Important for Democracy ..................................... 3 1.2.2 A Decrease of Traditional Activism Problem for Democracy ........................... 4 1.2.3 Different Forms of Traditional Civil Society Activism ....................................... 6 1.3 Why Latvia? ............................................................................................................ 7 1.3.1 Limited Empirical Research about Activism in Latvia ...................................... 7 1.3.2 Post-Soviet Democracies as Least-likely Cases ............................................. 7 1.3.3 Activism in an Ethnically Divided Democracy .................................................. 9 1.3.4 Applying “Western” Theories in a Post-Soviet Context .................................. 10 1.4 Background to Civil Society in Latvia .................................................................... 10 1.5 The Argument in Brief ........................................................................................... 12 1.6 Outline of the Study ............................................................................................... 14 Chapter 2 Explanations of Civil Society Core Activism ............................... 18 2.1 Defining Civil Society and Identifying Fields of Interest ......................................... 19 2.1.1 Defining Political, Economic and Civil Society ............................................... 19 2.1.2 “Bad” Civil Society Organizations .................................................................. 23 2.2 Contending Explanations of Civil Society Activism ................................................ 24 2.2.1 Modernization ............................................................................................... 26 2.2.2 State Structure .............................................................................................. 28 2.2.3 Mobilizing Agencies and Framing Processes ................................................ 29 2.3 Micro-level Explanations of Civil Society Core Activism ........................................ 31 2.3.1 Demographic Characteristics ........................................................................ 33 2.3.1.1 Gender ................................................................................................. 33 2.3.1.2 Citizenship and Place of Residence...................................................... 35 2.3.1.3 Life Situation and Age........................................................................... 37 2.3.2 Socioeconomic Status and Resources .......................................................... 39 2.3.3 Organizational Experience ............................................................................ 42 2.3.4 Network Influences ....................................................................................... 45 2.3.5 Values ........................................................................................................... 48 2.3.5.1 Internalization of Values: Primary and Secondary Socialization............ 48 vii 2.3.5.2 Empathy and Moral Duties.................................................................... 50 2.3.5.3 Generalized Trust ................................................................................. 52 2.3.6 Civic Skills..................................................................................................... 54 2.3.6.1 Subjective and Administrative Competences ........................................ 54 2.3.6.2 Civic Literacy and Organizational Competence .................................... 55 2.3.7 Motives for Activism: Self-interest or Altruism ............................................... 58 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 61 3. Methodological Approach of the Study ................................................... 64 3.1 Choosing Methods ................................................................................................ 65 3.1.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Research .......................................................... 65 3.2 Creating the Data .................................................................................................. 66 3.2.1 The Creation of Survey Questions ................................................................ 67 3.2.2 How to Measure Generalized Trust............................................................... 68 3.2.3 How to Measure Empathy ............................................................................. 69 3.2.4 The Problem of Memory................................................................................ 71 3.2.5 Controlling the Human Factor ....................................................................... 72 3.2.6 Selection of Respondents - Civil Society Core Activists ................................ 74 3.2.7 Selection of Respondents - Non-activists ...................................................... 77 3.3 Analyzing the Data ................................................................................................ 78 3.3.1 Dimensions of Comparison ........................................................................... 78 3.3.2 Binary Logistic Regression Analysis ............................................................. 81 4. Demographic Characteristics ................................................................. 88 4.1 Gender .................................................................................................................. 89 4.1.1 Activists in General ....................................................................................... 89 4.1.1.1 Status, Leadership Experiences and Contacts ..................................... 91 4.1.1.2 Tradition of Hard Work and Responsibility ............................................ 94 4.1.2 Fields of Interest ........................................................................................... 95 4.1.3 Position in Organization ................................................................................ 97 4.2 Citizenship ............................................................................................................ 99 4.2.1 Activists in General ....................................................................................... 99 4.2.2 Fields of Interest and Position in Organization ............................................ 105 4.3 Place of Residence ............................................................................................. 105 4.3.1 Activists in General ..................................................................................... 106 4.3.2 Fields of Interest ......................................................................................... 107 4.4 Age ..................................................................................................................... 107 4.4.1 Activists in General ..................................................................................... 107 4.5 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 109 5. Socioeconomic Factors: Status and Resources ................................... 112 5.1 Level of Education ............................................................................................... 112 5.1.1 Activists in General ..................................................................................... 113 5.1.2 Fields of Interest and Position in Organization ............................................ 116 5.1.2.1 Education as a Channel to Elite Membership ..................................... 118 viii 5.1.2.2 Vospitanie and Ideological Training .................................................... 120 5.1.2.3 Conviction or Instrumental Motivation ................................................. 124 5.2 Economy ............................................................................................................. 125 5.2.1 Activists in General ..................................................................................... 125 5.2.2 Fields of Interest and Position in Organization ............................................ 131 5.3