The Development of Baltic Public Diplomacy: Transitioning from Uncoordinated to Coordinated, 1915–23

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Spanning from the First World War to the first decade of the interwar period, this panel examines key phases of development in international public diplomacy conducted on behalf of the Baltic nations. The transition of Baltic public diplomacy from uncoordinated to coordinated acts is traced and placed in a broader geopolitical context. Beginning with an exploration of uncoordinated activities of Lithuanian émigrés advocating a Latvian-Lithuanian state, produced at a time when the international public knew little of the Baltic region, the panel explores the development of Baltic public diplomacy. These uncoordinated activities were initially a source of confusion about the region's inhabitants. Later, coordinated acts of public diplomacy helped delineate distinctions between the Baltic nations. The example of a Lithuanian-American campaign to collect one million signatures in support of Lithuanian recognition represents a turning point in foreign perceptions, with growing awareness of the Baltic region, illustrating the influential role of public opinion in shaping diplomatic activities. Subsequently, examples of coordinated acts of public diplomacy immediately before and after US de jure recognition, and the cooperation between various interest groups for a common aim denote further developments in Baltic public diplomacy, providing insights into the coordinated activities of Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in pursuit of recognition. Finally, as a comparative element, the panel concludes with an examination of the development of official public diplomacy between the Baltic states and Italy that extended beyond de jure recognition, illustrating broader international dynamics that continued into the interwar period.

Short Bio

James Montgomery Baxenfield is a Junior Research Fellow at Tallinn University School of Humanities, and doctoral candidate with the Institute of History, Archaeology & Art History. His doctoral dissertation, Footnotes to the Past: Forgotten Episodes of Latvian-Lithuanian Federation & Confederation, 1884–1984, examines various notions of establishing a Latvian-Lithuanian state from the period of national awakening until the final decades of the twentieth century. He was the initiator and guest co-editor of a special issue of Acta Historica Tallinnensia, entitled “Recognition: de facto and de jure” (2022), that marked the centenary of the 1922 diplomatic recognition of the governments of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania by the United States of America. In 2022, he was the recipient of a Baumanis Grant for Creative Research in Baltic Studies from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS). In 2023 he undertook a visiting fellowship at the Herder Institute in Marburg, and was a recipient of a Dissertation Grant for Graduate Students from AABS. He is a member of AABS and the North American Vexillological Association.

Piotr Szlaużys graduated from the University of Warsaw, Institute of English Studies, in 2001, where he specialized in American culture and literature. He is writing his doctoral dissertation as a participant in a PhD seminar on American history, conducted by Professor Halina Parafianowicz in the Faculty of History and International Relations at the University of Białystok. The title of his PhD thesis is The Role of Lithuanian Americans in Support of Independent Lithuania (1918–1922). He speaks Polish, English, and Lithuanian fluently. His main interests include American Lithuanian efforts to obtain recognition for independent Lithuania by the United States after World War I, US policy towards the Baltic states from 1918 to 1922, and Lithuanian immigration to the US in the 19th and 20th centuries. He is a member of AABS and has participated in AABS and CBSE conferences since 2019.

Marika Selga holds an MA, (UL, 1992, 2006) and is a PhD student at the University of Latvia. She is working on a doctoral dissertation on the relations of Latvia and the United States in the 1920s–30s, focusing on the factor of the US Legation in Latvia. Her research interests include the history of Latvian diplomacy, international relations in the interwar period, US foreign policy, and the history of diplomacy.

Rosario Napolitano received his PhD in International Studies from the University of Naples “l’Orientale” (2018). He is currently a lecturer of Italian Studies at the Latvian-Italian Cooperation Centre of the Riga Technical University, and at the Faculty of Humanities of the Art Academy of Latvia. His areas of research are related to the fascist cultural diplomacy in the Baltic States during the interwar period, and the policies of sovietization in Soviet Latvia.

Sub Unit

• History, Memory, and Identity

Chair

• Donatas Kupčiūnas, Cambridge University

Individual Presentations

• One Million Signatures: Lithuanian Americans’ Campaign for the US Recognition of Lithuania, 1919–21 - Piotr Szlaużys, University of Bialystok

• The Public Diplomacy Efforts of Latvian Representatives in the US, 1921–23 - Marika Selga, University of Latvia

• From de facto to de jure: The Italian Government's Recognition of Latvia and Public Diplomacy in the Baltic States - Rosario Napolitano, Riga Technical University/ Art Academy of Latvia