Les conflits autour des minorités en Lettonie et la circulation des normes européennes Jeux d’échelles, ressources et contraintes1

Most academic writings on the effects of applying EU standards to minorities in Latvia merely analyze this process’s legal aspects and only investigate the modifications made to legislation. Although European conditionality has contributed in Latvia to a liberalization in matters of citizenship and language, it has also had other consequences, in particular on the symbolic struggles of minority populations to define their status and position in the Latvian nation. Actions are namely increasingly taken at the European level and appeals are more often being made to courts. Groups and individuals nonetheless still target national institutions and pursue actions outside the formal judicial process.