Esu Lietuvis pasienyje
Lithuanian on Borderland

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary communities contain ‘multivocal’ notions of people. To people who support multicultural policies and other ideas of post-industrial polyethnic states, ethnicity has become less important. The individual opinions are controversial. The changing relationship between ethnic, cultural and national identity in Europe and beyond has given rise to ongoing discussion in anthropological theory. Under conditions of globalization, we come across what theorists call ‘cross-border’, ‘situational’ ethnicity, ‘narrative’ identity. What are the consequences of this weakening factor of being on borderlands? I argue that the coexistence of different ethnic groups inspires the securitisation. The paper will discuss the theoretical approaches and the different cases of changing notions of belonging, of “them and us“ and correlated roots of insecurity on Lithuania’s borderlands during 2000-2017. By a constructivist approach the paper will compare the interdisciplinary notions of belonging with inter-cultural networks of the political demands of modern societies and concepts of Lithuanianness. The focus is on small communities and individuals in history on the borderlands of West, north, and East Lithuania.

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