The role of political trust in explaining naturalisation of non-citizens in Latvia
Stukane, Jekaterina (2021)
2021
Master's Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-04-21
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202103252671
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202103252671
Tiivistelmä
This master’s thesis studies the connection between political trust and the process of naturalisation of non-citizens in Latvia. First, the thesis details the historical background of the emergence of non-citizen status in Latvia. Second, it addresses the rights of citizens and non-citizens in Latvia, and third, examines the potential impact of political trust on non-citizens’ motivation to naturalise.
Theoretical framework of this thesis encompasses analysis of the main concepts employed in this work – institutional trust in a bundle with political trust, citizenship, and naturalisation – and explains the reciprocal connection between naturalisation and political trust. According to Susanne Tönsmann (2017), such connection exists in the context of Latvia, and this assumption is the starting point of this work. The role of political trust in non-citizens’ motivation to naturalise is examined through qualitative interviews. Through the application of thematic analysis, this thesis has identified a plausible connection between the studied notions.
While the empirical analysis did not establish grounds for strong claims, the argument about a connection between political trust and non-citizen naturalisation seems plausible. Findings of this research cannot be generalised due to the limited number of interviews. However, this research provides deeper qualitative insights on the role that non-citizens’ attitudes towards public and political institutions play in their motivation to naturalise i.e. obtain full citizenship rights in their home countries.
Previous studies have not studied the connection between trust in public institutions and a wish of Latvian non-citizens to naturalise. Previous literature has concentrated on those matters separately but not in a bundle, as is done here. Thus, this research has not only contributed to a better understanding of Latvian non-citizen problem and raised awareness of it, but also contributed to a discussion of new unresearched matters.
Theoretical framework of this thesis encompasses analysis of the main concepts employed in this work – institutional trust in a bundle with political trust, citizenship, and naturalisation – and explains the reciprocal connection between naturalisation and political trust. According to Susanne Tönsmann (2017), such connection exists in the context of Latvia, and this assumption is the starting point of this work. The role of political trust in non-citizens’ motivation to naturalise is examined through qualitative interviews. Through the application of thematic analysis, this thesis has identified a plausible connection between the studied notions.
While the empirical analysis did not establish grounds for strong claims, the argument about a connection between political trust and non-citizen naturalisation seems plausible. Findings of this research cannot be generalised due to the limited number of interviews. However, this research provides deeper qualitative insights on the role that non-citizens’ attitudes towards public and political institutions play in their motivation to naturalise i.e. obtain full citizenship rights in their home countries.
Previous studies have not studied the connection between trust in public institutions and a wish of Latvian non-citizens to naturalise. Previous literature has concentrated on those matters separately but not in a bundle, as is done here. Thus, this research has not only contributed to a better understanding of Latvian non-citizen problem and raised awareness of it, but also contributed to a discussion of new unresearched matters.