The role of Latvian nationalism in the transformation of Lithuanian nationalism during the long 19th century

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines the role of Latvian ethnic nationalism in the transformation of Lithuanian nationalism from a civic to ethnic form during the long 19th century. In particular, the present article aims to clarify the differences between the Lithuanian and Latvian models of national identity in the initial phases of their national movements and to analyse how the Latvian example influenced Lithuanian nationalism. The Latvian model of nationalism, which spread to the Lithuanian context through communication among prominent intellectuals of the national movements at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, contributed to the central positioning of an ethnolinguistic identity within the Lithuanian national movement. This article provides compelling evidence that it is relatively easy to transition from civic to ethnic nationalism over a longer time period when the main dimensions of national identity have undergone radical change.