Horizontal citizenship in Estonia: Russian speakers in the borderland city of Narva

Jašina-Schäfer, A. and Cheskin, A. (2020) Horizontal citizenship in Estonia: Russian speakers in the borderland city of Narva. Citizenship Studies, 24(1), pp. 93-110. (doi: 10.1080/13621025.2019.1691150)

Abstract

This paper critically interrogates the notion of ‘citizenship’ from the politically-charged perspective of Russian speakers in Estonia. Drawing on a broad range of critical citizenship literatures, and ethnographic examples from the borderland city of Narva, we propose re- and de-centring citizenship away from universalising conceptions, towards a historically and culturally grounded horizontal perspective on citizenship. While cognisant of dominant, state-centric approaches in Estonia, we present citizenship as a process unfolding through individual, everyday practices of belonging. We demonstrate how Russian speakers, excluded from membership in the Estonian community, can still become members in many less-formal ways, through vibrant interaction with local space.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cheskin, Dr Ammon
• Authors: Jašina-Schäfer, A., and Cheskin, A.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Central and East European Studies
• Journal Name: Citizenship Studies
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 1362-1025
• ISSN (Online): 1469-3593
• Published Online: 14 November 2019
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
• First Published: First published in Citizenship Studies 24(1): 93-110
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy