Abstract
The article studies the compliance of democracy of the Baltic States with the principle of tolerance. The study demonstrated specific social phobias (xenophobia, migrant phobia, homophobia, islamophobia, romaphobia, etc.), hate speech and other destructive trends in the Baltic countries that contradict values of liberal democracy. The authors argue that Baltic States face similar challenges of strengthening the principle of tolerance as well as how they differ in intolerance manifestations and mechanisms of their prevention and counteraction. In the Baltic States, issues related to promotion of tolerance are claimed to be common at two levels: at the institutional level (countries do not fulfil some of the EU guidelines aimed at enhancing the principle of tolerance); at the value level (population does not accept completely liberal-democratic values that the EU advocates).
Highlights
In the political and legal discourse, tolerance has been the critical subject for a long time
In Finland and Denmark, high tolerance is exhibited through the right to same-sex marriage, while in Lithuania and Latvia, intolerance for sexual minorities is manifested in strong opposition to the institution of same-sex partnerships
There were launched a system of data collection and a system of statistics on cases of racist and homo- and transphobic hate speech, which were reported to law enforcement agencies and prosecuted by the courts; the implementation of the integration strategy of vulnerable groups (Russian-speaking minority, stateless persons applying for citizenship of the Republic of Estonia, etc.) (ECRI Conclusions, 2018)
Summary
In the political and legal discourse, tolerance has been the critical subject for a long time. Estonia's greatest progress in combating intolerance towards sexual minorities was achieved with the adoption of the law “On cohabitation” in 2014 (took effect in 2016) It allowed the legalization of relationships between people living without marriage registration. In Finland and Denmark, high tolerance is exhibited through the right to same-sex marriage, while in Lithuania and Latvia, intolerance for sexual minorities is manifested in strong opposition to the institution of same-sex partnerships (as in Estonia). There were launched a system of data collection and a system of statistics on cases of racist and homo- and transphobic hate speech, which were reported to law enforcement agencies and prosecuted by the courts; the implementation of the integration strategy of vulnerable groups (Russian-speaking minority, stateless persons applying for citizenship of the Republic of Estonia, etc.) (ECRI Conclusions, 2018). Information campaigns are being implemented to form a positive perception of different nationalities inhabiting Estonia, for example, the TV program “Meie Eestid” (aired on the Estonian TV channel ETV in 2017)
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