Estonia

What is the relationship between cyber activities conducted by Russia at home and abroad? What role do cyber operations play as an instrument of Russia’s coercive diplomacy? How different is Russia from other cyber powers, and how do we know for sure if the Kremlin is behind certain cyberattacks that have been attributed to it?

This Chaillot Paper examines these and other key questions as it explores how Russia’s increasingly assertive behaviour in cyberspace has lent new urgency to the debate about cybersecurity in the West. It focuses on what lessons EU member states have learned from recent events, and on how the EU and NATO have responded to these cyber challenges on the diplomatic, political and security fronts. The paper argues that Russia’s aggressive use of cyber tools has led the US and many Europeans states to adopt more defensive cyber strategies, and that as a result Russia may have lost the strategic advantage it has hitherto enjoyed in what is becoming an ever-more contested domain.

Der vorliegende Beitrag befasst sich mit der Minderheitenpolitik in Estland unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Kultur. Dabei wird der Nationale Aktionsplan ausgewertet und der Einfluss der Kulturpolitik auf die Inklusion ethnischer Minderheiten untersucht. Die Studie legt einen Schwerpunkt auf die Bereiche Bildung, Medien und Partizipation. Die Studie kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass ethnische Minderheiten in weiten Bereichen unterrepräsentiert sind, und gibt Handlungsoptionen zur Verbesserung der Situation. (ICD

To find the incidence of juvenile arthritis according to the ILAR and EULAR criteria within defined areas in the Nordic countries, and to study the validity of the ILAR and EULAR criteria from this perspective. A longitudinal, prospective, population based study with patients enrolled according to the ILAR and EULAR criteria. Twenty doctors in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland collected data from the incidence cases within their catchment areas over a period of 1.5 years, beginning July 1, 1997. Clinical and serological data from the first year of the disease were collected. In the whole group of 315 patients, the incidence rate was 15 per 100,000 children/year (95% CI 13-17) according to the ILAR criteria, varying from 7 (1-13) in Iceland, 19 (7-31) and 23 (10-36) from 2 different regions in Norway, and 9 (5-12) and 16 (9-23) from 2 different areas in Denmark, to 15 (12-18) in Sweden and 21/100,000/year (15-26) in the Helsinki region in Finland. An early peak in distrib...

The big and increasingly complex problems faced by governments around the world do not fit neatly into the internal structures by which governments have divided and organized themselves. As a result, many governments are struggling to respond effectively. In this blog post, we summarize the findings of our recent paper "Abandoning Silos: How innovative governments are collaborating horizontally to solve complex problems" which explores how three countries (Estonia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand) are successfully overcoming this challenge.

The requirement for a collaborative effort to achieve a common set of security standards for use by entities that process, store or transport voter data. -More than 350,000 voting machines are used in the Unites States today in over 42 States (VerifiedVoting 2017). The rise in the use of electronic mediums has posed great concern for those voting and those running for office. In 2016, the State of Florida reported the targeted attempts by Russian hackers to infiltrate and manipulate electronic voting in as much as 67 elections offices. As well reporting from additional sources that as many as voter database compromises across 21 states and forensics discovery at attempts by hackers to infiltrate the networks of voting equipment vendors, local election boards, political parties and email and social media accounts for candidates.  The industry and cyber security community has not discovered a process to protect the most democratic process in the world to date – Voting remains a target held at risk. 2018 Elections are critical to moving the U.S. forward to recovery - Feel free to reach out if you need support or have any additional questions.

The EU is divided between member states that have adopted the euro and those that have not. This article looks at the issue of differentiated integration with particular reference to eurozone integration and the euro-outsiders. I explore the recent public debate in the UK on euro-outsiderness, comparing this with debates in Denmark. The article highlights some striking differences between the UK and Denmark when it comes to the actual management of euro-outsiderness in Brussels as well as some of the dilemmas facing euro-outsiders such as the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Poland as the EU struggles to exit its crises. Finally, I discuss the future of two-speed European integration and the UK's possible exit from the EU. The UK cannot escape the dilemma of favouring either influence or autonomy; whether the UK remains in or leaves the EU, it will need to allow the eurozone to proceed in order to prevent further eurozone crises.

The article analyses a classic Latvian short story „The Battle near Knipska“ by Jānis Poruks. The storry has been included in the lists of compulsory (or recommended) readings for primary and secondary schools during most of the time since 1920s. The main character Cibins is often perceived and presented to the pupils as the symbol of peacefulness and non-aggression. By that Cibins is often used in popular discourse as an example of the peaceful aspirations in Latvian culture. While the story is fictional, it has two links to the Latvian reality – first it depicts quite well the realities of schools in Latvia both in late 19th century and now and, second, as a role setting example it has influenced generations of Latvians. This article uses the story as an ethnographic text and sets out to ask how peaceful in fact is Cibins and the environment in which he lives. By comparing cross-cultural anthropological data about peaceful societies, the article argues that in fact neither Cibins nor the environment in which he lives are peaceful or capable of peaceful life. On the contrary – the whole structure of the society and its institutions are characteristic of societies that are oriented more towards education of violent and individualistic characters. By the way of extrapolating the conclusions to contemporary Latvia, the article also argues that contemporary Latvian society is similarly geared to violence and individualism which may obstruct developmental efforts of the society.

This article is based on the diary of a young Estonian provincial female party activist Luise Vaher (née Kapstas), in which she describes her evacuation to the Soviet rear following the German invasion of the USSR in the summer and fall of 1941. The diary offers a rare glimpse into the mindset of recently converted Estonian Com- munists and their shock in encountering the realities of Soviet everyday life. It shows how a young female Bolshevik is trying to make sense of the abject Soviet poverty and the brutal kolkhoz life, its peculiar ethnic, racial and gender relations, and how these realities prompt her to reflect on her own beliefs and identity. The article is inspired by the so-called subjectivity school of Soviet studies, namely by the work of Jochen Hellbeck. The first part of the article examines the applicability of Hellbeck’s approach to the Soviet Estonian context. It also provides a political biography of Luise Vaher – from her conversion to Communism in the summer of 1940, through her rocky career as a provincial party activist, up to her post-Stalinist life as a prominent author of Soviet Estonian “women’s novels.”

Статья посвящена реализации одного из основных инфраструктурных проектов в регионе Восточной Балтики – создания высокоскоростной железнодорожной магистрали Rail Baltica/Rail Baltica II по маршруту Хельсинки – Таллин – Рига – Вильнюс – Варшава – Берлин, основная часть которой будет проходить по территории стран Балтии. Латвия, Литва и Эстония рассматривают проект как стратегически важный с точки зрения ликвидации инфраструктурной изолированности от остальной территории Европейского союза, что соответствует общей цели транспортной политики ЕС по
созданию единого европейского железнодорожного пространства. Хотя перспективы экономической окупаемости Rail Baltica неясны, тем не менее, учитывая высокую вероятность реализации проекта в долгосрочной перспективе, уже сегодня как региональные, так и внешние акторы оценивают потенциал использования новых мощностей грузовых и пассажирских перевозок.
The article reviews performance of a major infrastructure project in the Eastern Baltics – namely, construction of the highspeed railway «Rail Baltica/Rail Baltica II» (Helsinki – Tallinn – Riga – Vilnius – Warsaw –Berlin), the longest tracks of which will lead through territories of the Baltic States. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia consider the project strategically important in terms of elimination of infrastructural isolation of these countries from the rest of the European Union, which corresponds to an overall EU transport policy goal of creating a single European railway area. Although the prospects of economic payback of the Rail Baltica remain unclear, given high probability that the Project will be completed sooner or later, today both regional and external actors evaluate the potential cargo and passenger capabilities that may come with it.

ABSTRACT. The concept of the Other is increasingly popular in nationalism and ethnicity literature, which usually proposes the existence of one significant Other for any national Self, and that this Other is usually threatening and negative. This approach is one-sided and in need of revision. I suggest that any nation may have many simultaneously existing Others, and more importantly, these Others need not be negative – they may also be positive. By exploring how (1) ‘the Other’ matters in identity construction; (2) there can be several Others at any one time; (3) the Other can be positive as well as negative; (4) the role of any given Other can change during various phases of national identity construction and maintenance; and (5) the particular ‘otherness’ of the Other has social and political consequences, this article will reconsider the role of otherness in the construction, transformation and maintenance of Estonian national identity.

Mit der Untersuchung der beim EU-Beitritt Estlands veröffentlichten Presseartikel soll versucht werden, das Bild des Landes ans Licht zu bringen. Dem kleinen Land im Osten Europas wird in den deutschen Medien gewöhnlich nur wenig Platz eingeräumt. Die Osterweiterung der Europäischen Union hat 2014 die Aufmerksamkeit auf die osteuropäischen Länder gelenkt, und Estland durfte sich eines besonderen Interesses erfreuen. Welches Bild des Landes hat die deutsche Presse zu diesem Anlass vermittelt? Haben die wirtschaftlichen Themen das Feld beherrscht, oder wurden weitere Aspekte behandelt? Hat die Presse auf Klischees oder Gemeinplätze zurückgegriffen, oder kam es zu einer vorurteillosen Berichterstattung? Kann die deutsche Presse Estland von den anderen baltischen Ländern abheben, oder wird ein undifferenziertes Urteil abgegeben? Ist die Berichterstattung von geschichtlichen Aspekten frei oder wird auf bestimmte geschichtliche Ereignisse (Kolonisierung im Mittelalter oder Flucht und Vertreibung nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg z.B.) hingewiesen? Diesen Fragen soll anhand einer breiten Palette von Artikeln nachgegangen werden. Presseberichte aus Wochenzeitungen (Die Zeit), Nachrichtenmagazinen (Der Spiegel), Tageszeitungen aller politischen Ausrichtungen (FAZ, SZ) sollen ein umfangreiches Bild Estlands in der deutschen Presse skizzieren.

Celem artykułu jest analiza statusu prawnego, organizacji i uprawnień służb specjalnych Republiki Estonii. Autor prezentuje misję i zakres zadań Estońskiej Służby Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego (Kaitsepolitsei), Estońskiej Służby Wywiadowczej (Välisluureamet) oraz Centrum Wywiadu Wojskowego (Luurekeskus). Ukazuje również uwarunkowania historyczne estońskich służb specjalnych oraz ich umiejscowienie w strukturze organów państwa odpowiedzialnych za bezpieczeństwo narodowe, a także przedstawia system nadzoru na ich działalnością.

The article presents an analysis of the legal status, organization and powers of the special services of the Republic of Estonia. The author presents the mission and tasks of the Estonian Internal Security Service (Kaitsepolitsei), the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (Välisluureamet) and the Military Intelligence Centre (Luurekeskus). The article show the historical aspect of the Estonian special services and their location in the structure of state organs responsible for national security. In addition, the author presents a surveillance system on the activities of intelligence and counterintelligence services.

В публикации содержится подборка текстов, связанных с легендами о священных камнях, но, нужно отметить, что это лишь малая часть материалов «русской» коллекции. В архиве можно найти также, например, рассказы об огненных змеях, о предсказании погоды по внешнему виду солнца или луны, астронимический материал2, тексты о народной метеорологии, приметы, частушки, песни, материалы по народной медицине и демонологии, описания святых источников, исторические воспоминания и др. Интересно, что «русская» часть архива мало представлена в русскоязычном научном сообществе. Хотя тексты и описывают некоторые хорошо известные сакральные объекты на территории современной Псковской обл. и эстонско-псковского пограничья3, приведенный материал позволяет пронаблюдать вариативность передачи информации об одном и том же культовом памятнике разными информантами. Таким образом отражая динамичность «народной памяти» через субъективное восприятие информанта. В тоже время в пересказах информантов остаются некоторые ключевые мотивы, менее подверженные временным изменениям. Например, как про камень в деревне Мегузицы: вариативность субъектов, которые разрушали камень: барин, помещик, лютеранин, крестьянин, эстонец, т. е. социальный, религиозный, этнический аспекты. В то же время, сохраняются основные мотивы: с каким святым связан камень, разрушение камня, использование камня для строительства хлева и сопутствующие последствия и пр. Кстати, отметим, что подобная легенда про камень зафиксирована и на территории Беларуси около г. п. Смиловичи.

Észtország a rendszerváltást követően a fejlesztések számos területén olyan sikereket ért el, melyek vizsgálata támpontokat adhat hazánkban is a változásokat menedzselő szakemberek számára. A tanulmány elsősorban szakértőkkel készített interjúk alapján készült. Röviden bemutatja Észtország múltját, jelenét és oktatási rendszerét. Kiemelten foglalkozik a napjainkban rendkívüli jelentőségű együttműködés és az egész életen át tartó tanulás témakörével és rávilágít arra, mi rejlik az „észt csoda” mögött.

Estonia is widely credited to be a pioneer in e-governance and especially e-democracy. It has frequently been expected, too, that Estonia will be the leading country for e-voting, introducing it already for the national elections of 2003. However, in the very last changes of the respective laws, the Estonian Parliament has voted for e-voting, not for the immediate future, but only with a delay of implementation until the year 2005. Still, to our knowledge, the current article is the first and so far the only investigation into the first European case of a country that has actually passed overall e-voting laws, and a step-by-step analysis of the relevant law-making process in this case.

This chapter analyses inter-generational differences and their dynamics in Estonia in 2002-2014, focussing on generational identity, social and cultural space, media use, civic and political activity and social positioning. The chapter is based on the Mannheimian sociology of generations, viewing social generations as being constituted according to their relation to historical and cultural time, and to the respective lifestyles underlying status-based social stratification. The analysis is based on the “Me. The World. The Media” survey data from 2002, 2011 and 2014.
The chapter demonstrates that age and/or generation has become one of the most significant markers of social inequality and lifestyle-based differentiation. Besides positioning within lifespan, adaptability to the changing social environment plays a role in inter-generational differentiation. As an example, the cohorts born in the late 1960s and in the 1970s experienced very rapid changes and different social conditions during their formative years, which may have fostered their openness to all kinds of innovation.
In general, younger generations have been able to adapt to rapid social changes, particularly to digitisation and social acceleration, more flexibly, swiftly and to a greater extent, while older generations have mostly remained faithful to habits and preferences they became used to during their childhood or youth. In some aspects (e.g. institutional political participation, cultural activity and the level of being informed), the greater inertia of older age groups has contributed to the maintenance of their capitals; in many other areas (e.g. extending social space as a personal resource, digital skills, participation in online political and economic fields, and consumption capabilities), younger age groups have had a remarkable head start that has led to a significantly higher self-evaluated social status in younger generations. The chapter concludes that generations structure the transforming society on the vertical as well as the horizontal dimensions and tend to de-synchronise the progression of age groups in social time-space. However, some counter-tendencies (inter-generational similarities and intra-generational variety) exist.

In this monograph the processes of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the three Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) are analyzed - since the very restoration of their independence in 1991 up to the end of the first decade of their membership in the EU and NATO (in Rus. language)

Artikkel annab ülevaate narratiivteraapia teoreetilistest alustest ja selle meetodi kasutamisest seoses kehakuvandi  kujunemisega  teisme- ja noorukieas. See on kirjutatud sooviga aidata kaasa teooria ja praktika lõimimisele kliinilises ja rakenduslikus sotsiaaltöös. Ülevaade põhineb narratiivteraapia kasutamise juhistel ja kirjandusallikatel, ühtlasi on artiklis kirjeldatu ka minu doktoriõpingute teema.
Tutvustan analüüsi aluseks olevat teaduskirjandust ja materjale narratiivteraapia kohta, alustades selle poststrukturalistliku teraapiameetodi kõige üldisemast raamistikust ning liikudes kitsamate kehakuvandit puudutavate alateemadeni. Narratiivteraapia põhimõtteid saab kasutada nii töös inimestega, kellel on moonutatud arvamus oma välimusest (nn keha düsmorfiline häire) kui ka näiteks kaasasündinud rindkere moonutusega inimeste puhul: mõlemal juhul võib tulla kõne alla kas kirurgiline või mittekirurgiline korrektsioon. Jättes kõrvale meditsiinilised sekkumised, analüüsin oma uurimistöös nii kirjandusest pärinevaid kui ka teraapia eri osapooltelt (noorukid ise, nende pered, terapeudid ja arstid) kogutud andmeid selle kohta, kuidas narratiivteraapia soodustab positiivse kehakuvandi kujunemist teismelistel ja noorukitel, võttes arvesse ka teraapias osalevate noorte sotsiaalkultuurilist konteksti. Kuna narratiivteraapia põhimõtteid saab kasutada igasuguse nõustamise puhul, siis pakuvad artikli järeldused huvi lugejatele, kes soovivad rohkem teada saada sellest lähenemisviisist ja selle kasutamise võimalustest rakenduslikus sotsiaaltöös.

Being a poster child of digital state, Estonia is a truly right place to find answers to the question on how it should be done first when it comes to achieving a real progress in modernizing governance through the use of information and communication technologies. It seems interesting to research how this nation promotes one of the latest trends in the development of the e-government concept—open data. In this regard, the chapter aims to understand what kind of political and socioeconomic drivers and challenges Estonia faces today in the diffusion of the open data concept among various stakeholders, namely government officials, developers, businesses, journalists, academia, and non-governmental organizations and how overcomes them, especially in areas that are related to the publication and, more importantly, to the reuse of datasets by third parties in various collaborative projects and civic engagement platforms.

Monografia prezentuje wyniki badań naukowych na temat estońskiego systemu obrony narodowej. Autor ukazuje jakie uwarunkowania historyczne, polityczne, społeczne i kulturowe wpłynęły na koncepcję obrony narodowej Republiki Estonii oraz wyjaśnia jakie zjawiska i zdarzenia (zewnętrzne i wewnętrzne) z lat 1991-2018 ukształtowały ten system. Ponadto autor analizuje strategiczne dokumenty planowania obronnego oraz rozwiązania prawno-organizacyjne Republiki Estonii i wskazuje na ich podstawie charakterystyczne cechy estońskiego modelu obrony narodowej. Organizacja systemu obrony narodowej Republiki Estonii przedstawiona jest w podziale na obronę militarną i niemilitarną. Autor wyszczególnia również zadania i kompetencje naczelnych organów państwa oraz instytucji odpowiedzialnych za bezpieczeństwo (m.in. Estońskie Siły Obrony, Estońska Liga Obrony, Policja i Straż Graniczna, służby specjalne, Urząd ds. Systemów Informatycznych i inne). Oprócz aspektów naukowych monografia ma za zadanie umożliwienie polskiemu czytelnikowi lepszego poznania i zrozumienia Estonii i Estończyków.

This chapter focuses on the development of political communication and campaigning in Estonia. It starts with a brief overview of the basic characteristics of the political and party system. Then, it introduces the main laws and rules the campaigners must comply with. After that, the authors describe the evolution of communication tactics and techniques used by parties and candidates to persuade voters to vote for them over the last three decades. At the end of the chapter, the authors discuss the most recent campaigning trends in Estonia.

This paper lays the groundwork for a comprehensive typology in uncovering the factors influencing the degree of shift towards e-democracy. The paper proposes an interaction model of factors in the analysis of e-democracy by examining the public sector, the private sector and the individuals. This interaction model is then used to discuss pertinent socio-economic and political impacts of e-democracy in Estonia. The discussion hopes to shed light on the obstacles and difficulties of achieving e- democracy and paves the way for future analysis of e-democracy implants in other countries.