Wrong and Right People
Latvia: Demographics, Migration, Border Regime
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Latvia’s population is shrinking. Over the past 20 years, the number of inhabitants has declined by almost 20 per cent. As in many other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, this is due to low birth rates and emigration abroad. The consequences are a labour shortage and growing financial problems for the pension fund. The country needs immigration, but its migration policy is extremely restrictive. Ever since Belarusian dictator Lukashenko began directing people from war-torn regions of the world to the Latvian border, a dehumanising discourse has taken hold in which refugees are seen only as a security risk and tools of Russia’s hybrid warfare.
(Osteuropa 8-9/2025, pp. 123–134)