The Liberation of Latvia: Media and Nonviolence (Research Brief)

The use and capabilities of the tools of war have been long and thoroughly studied. The mechanics of nonviolent action have been less so. Latvia’s liberation came without war, but the change that brought it about was no less cataclysmic. Media were at the center of those dramatic changes and an analysis of mass communication in this period helps us understand how Latvia managed this feat, how it contributed to the end of the Soviet Union as well as contributes to the development of theory about the role of media in nonviolent movements. Media plays a prominent role in all modern social and political movements, but this role, tactically speaking, is especially enhanced in nonviolent movements.

Download the pdf at the top of this page for the full brief.

Janis Cakars, of Indiana University, was a 2003-04 Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) fellow.