Yamalova E.N. Public confidence in the political system of the post-Soviet Baltic countries: general and special aspects

Abstract: The object of this research is the public opinion on the political values within the post-Soviet Baltic states. The subject of the research is public support and specific assessments in the context of the various ethnic groups of the Baltic societies. The author examines the category of "public support for the political system" as a multidimensional phenomenon, which is expressed through three main dimensions: personal political identity of citizens; the level of public support for the dominant political values; citizens' trust in the main political institutions. To analyze the level of public support the author uses a database of opinion polls conducted during the period of 1993-2004 by Center for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow). According to the author’s opinion, certain issues can quite objectively give an idea of the nature and dynamics of public support for the political systems of the Baltic states in three dimensions. In addition, they allow to record and investigate the specificity of the political preferences and orientations of the different ethnic groups of the Baltic societies. The theoretical basis of the study is the concept of multidimensionality by D. Easton about public support for the political system. In order to identify the cross-national specificity and study the peculiarities of perception of political systems in the context of ethnic groups, the author uses the comparative method. The main conclusions of the study are the provisions, under which the level and nature of identification in relation to the political community in all three Baltic countries have significant differences among different ethnic groups. The low level of loyalty to the state of residence among the Russian-speaking population suggests that the process of nation-building in these countries is far from over. Analysis of the dynamics of public support for democratic values and the level of sympathy for other political alternatives has shown that democracy has not yet become for the population of the Baltic states unconditional priority target. The study of the dynamics of trust in the main political institutions in the Baltic countries suggests confirmation U-curve hypothesis, according to which the trend of public support reflects the transformation processes. It is concluded that the assessment of the quality of the political regime and the dominant political preferences and values of the population depend not so much on the fundamental historic and culture parameters as the political realities and the nature of the political transformations of modernity.

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