Lithuania’s Quest for Self-Determination: Municipal Responses to National Emigration (Democratic Dilemmas and Policy Responsiveness)

Self-determination in the European Union rests on the strength and skills of a country’s representatives to manage and leverage relationships with other nations, and for individuals it rests on the ability to use autonomy and freedom wisely. To flourish, an individual must consciously determine their own path. Similarly, we can say a country can flourish. Self-determinism for a country is conditioned on the forces that facilitate or hinder its ability to succeed as a society. The same forces that can help a nation to flourish might also accelerate the decision to emigrate among a nation’s people. This is the paradox, and it is the quest: national and individual self-determination, to allow choice for emigration but to have strength of culture, civics, and institutions to discourage it, or to encourage return migration for those who have left. In this book, we address this paradox and this quest using the case of Lithuania. More specifically, we examine how municipalities can and do respond to ongoing population shrinking due to emigration in Lithuania, the non-economic factors that facilitate decisions to emigrate, and the opportunities for local governments to shrink smartly or reverse shrinkage. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Acknowledgments Introduction Emigration Methodology Structure Part I: Emigration: Causes, Consequences, and Municipal Responses Chapter 1: Causes of Emigration: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives Findings from the Literature Personal Ambition Personal Relationships Quality of Life Quality of Working Life Future Opportunities Quality of Governance Fitness to Enter a New Society Locating Non-Economic Factors within a Push/Pull Framework Chapter 2: Municipal Responses to Emigration: Dealing with Emigration Municipal and NGO Responses to Emigration-Driven Population Shrinkage Part II: The Case of Lithuania: A Historical Perspective Chapter 3: History of Lithuania: Summary from Early Times to Today and Beyond Chapter 4: Population Trends in Lithuania from a Historical Perspective The Experience of the Third-Wave Emigrants The Experience of the Fourth-Wave Emigrants Part III: Contemporary Emigration Causes, Consequences, and Municipal Responses in Lithuania Chapter 5: Profiles and Intentions of Lithuanians to Emigrate Profiling Lithuania’s Citizens as a Function of Civic Involvement and Place Attachment Place and Civic Integration Variable Construction and Analysis Findings: Relationship between Typology of Citizens and Emigration Intent Implications of the Profiles for Policymakers and Community Leaders Chapter 6: Emigration as a Civic Concern Civic Participation Satisfaction with Civic Participation Opportunities Findings Implications for Policymakers and Community Leaders Chapter 7: Emigration as a Loyalty Concern Findings from Lithuania: Loyalty and Emigration Intent Chapter 8: Municipal Responses to Emigration Governmental Strategies to Address Issues of Emigration and Population Shrinkage Emigration as a Concern in Strategic Plans of Lithuanian Municipalities Case Example: Akmenė District Municipality Summary of Strategic Plans Municipal Challenges Stemming from Emigration Declining Population, Including Children and Youth, in the Municipalities Aging of the Municipality’s Population, as Mostly Young People Leaving Increased Number of Families and Children at Social Risk, Especially When Children are Left in the Care of Grandparents or Foster Parents Lack of Specialists with the Necessary Education in the Municipalities Infrastructure/Economic Problems Caused with the Shrinkage of Population Municipal Benefits Stemming from Emigration Reduction in Crime, Need for Social Services, and Introduction of New Money Broadened Cultural Competencies and Professional Knowledge Actions in the Municipality to Meet the Challenges of Emigration Training for Returning Emigrants and Their Children Who Do Not Have Good Lithuanian Language Skills Municipal Programs Supporting Young People and Communities Building Infrastructure for Families Summary Part IV: Final Reflections Conclusion: Final Recommendations for Municipalities Findings and Recommendations Municipal Governments as Innovation Hubs References Index About the Authors