Precarious Roads to Recognition: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, 1917–1922; pp. 187–211

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue marking the centenary of de jure recognition extended to the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian governments by the United States in July 1922. The concept of self-determination – which opened up further roads for Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in pursuit of independence after the First World War – became closely associated with President Woodrow Wilson’s famous Fourteen Points speech of 1918. However, it was not predetermined that the Baltic nations would receive recognition, or that they would seek sovereign statehood. For a time, the notion of autonomy within a larger federation of states, more closely resembling the imperial structure that had dominated the European political landscape for centuries, was not merely a competing idea, but for some a preference. As notions of self-determination developed into the pursuit of diplomatic recognition, the February Revolution of 1917 and the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 became markers for a transition from federative ideas to national independence.

Keywords

• recognition; self-determination; baltic states; world war i; paris peace conference; international law; public relations; diplomatic relations