Students and staff

Interaction between the individual, the society and the state in process of the history of Latvia

INTERACTION BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL, THE SOCIETY AND THE STATE IN PROCESS OF THE HISTORY OF LATVIA: CONFLICTING VALUES AND FORMATION OF SHARED VALUES DURING HISTORICAL TURNING POINTS

Project No.: VPP-IZM-2018/1-0018
Implementation period: 1 December 2018 – 30 November 2021
Project costs: EUR 600 000
Principal investigator: Dr. hist. Guntis Zemītis
Partner: Daugavpils University

The aim of the project is to analyze the communication between the state, the society and the individual; the impact of political and social control on the attitude towards national and social security; the transformation process of political, social and cultural values in Latvia during the 16–20th century.

Having reached the centenary of the state, it is essential to acknowledge those values and historical turning points that made it possible to proclaim a democratic Republic of Latvia during a moment when there existed several alternatives for the statehood of Latvia. An interdisciplinary and highly qualified academic team of historians, sociologists, lawyers and theologians, which also plans to involve students in the teamwork, will identify the recent historiography and study the sources. The goal is to provide the society and the academic field with new knowledge about the processes whereby the distribution of religious,   philosophical and social ideas and various internal and external factors during the period of 16–20th century lead to the consolidation of a set of values that made it possible to found a democratic civil republic. The team will also analyze the importance of historical memory, the safeguarding of the idea of independence during the years of occupation, and the national resistence movement which eventually lead to the renewal of the independent state with a thriving multicultural and inclusive society. Special emphasis will be placed on the contribution by various ethnic, social and religious groups to the formation and protection of Latvia's statehood and cultural diversity. The researchers will also focus on the social safety and its complex nature, and on the role of individual beliefs in the strengthening of state security.