Transnational Contacts and Cross-Fertilization Among Baltic Historians in Exile, 1968–1991

Abstract

This article focuses on the impact of growing transnational contacts among Baltic historians in exile in the Western world in the 1970s and 1980s, especially the role of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS). The AABS quickly developed strong ties to Baltic scholars in Western Europe and, working together, this transnational network played a key role in establishing Baltic studies as a recognized field of academic inquiry in the West. The methodology of area studies encouraged a broader and more comparative approach to Baltic history, which came to be increasingly practiced in these two decades.