Political and digital technologies for forming macro-identity in the post-Soviet space (on the example of the Baltic states)
- DOI
- 10.5922/vestnikhum-2026-1-9
- Pages
- 123-139
Abstract
The study examines the instruments for shaping post-Soviet macro-identity in the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). Macro-identification is defined in a narrow sense as a political technology of civilizational reorientation, involving a break with historical and cultural ties to Greater Russia and the formation of new connections with the Western world. The article proposes a theoretical integration of the concepts of macro-political identity (O. Yu. Malinova), hybrid identity, and the civilizational paradigm approach. The methodological framework of the study is based on a constructionist approach to the phenomenon of identity. The analysis of policies for transforming historical memory in the Baltics draws on data from a series of focus groups conducted in the Pskov Region at the Center for Assistance to Resettlement “Compatriot.” A qualitative content analysis of leading media in the Baltic countries provided the empirical material necessary to test the hypothesis that macro-identity is shaped through the promotion of media symbols and meaning-laden narratives. The study identifies key new factors influencing the formation of macro-identity, including orientation toward new geopolitical trends, the popularization of independent social networks, and the perception of the Western world as progressive. Based on the results of the study, macro-identification is conceptualized as a political instrument for transitioning states from one civilizational paradigm to another, performing the function of transforming large civilizational formations. Using the Baltic states as an example, the study demonstrates a transition from the Soviet to the Western civilizational paradigm, along with the transformation of symbolic practices, normative frameworks, and foreign policy orientation.