The Preconditions of Social Identity of a Small State in Transition to

The Pre jibes of Social Identity of a Small State in Transition to DemocracyABSTRACT The definition of social identity consists of two parts. First, it means protection against threats to the nations existence and well-being. Second, it means the search for measures and possibilities to master the goals of social development and improvement. Social identity implies the creation and preservation of conditions in which each citizen can develop as educated, creative and responsible persons. Today, especially for nations passim the former Soviet Union, the chief risk to social identity lies in the adverse conditions of continued underdevelopment. It follows that for these nations, identity means first of all development. The essential condition for a small nations identity and survival is based on the peoples resolution to rely on themselves and to envision the potency for their own country. The modern strategy for ensuring social identity would essentially rely on the principle that every citizen is part of the national identity, i.e., its active agent. For this reason, of central impressiveness is the creation of equal starting possibilities (equality of opportunities) for everyone. An essential point of departure for an examination of our subject is the definition of social identity and its principal connotations. Both external and interior threats to social identity can arise, although our interest must be limited to the consideration of internal threats. Today, especially for nations throughout the former Soviet Union, the chief danger to social identity lies in the adverse conditions of continued underdevelopment. It follows that for our nation nowadays identity first of all means the development.The ... ...ording to V. Havel, we must all behave as if we could save it. (11) Each one of us must clean one square metre around himself or herself.We hope that all this are the difficulties of the setoff new era. NOTES(1) Genocide of Lithuanian People (Viln ius, 1992.), p. 48.(2) Adam Biela, Mental changes and Social Integration Perspective in Europe Theoretical Framework and Research Strategies, journal for Mental Changes, 1 (1995), 10.(3) Ibid, p.7.(4) John Friedmann, rethinking Poverty Empowerment and Citizen Rights, International Social Science Journal, 148 (1996), 169.(5) Lithuanian Human Development Report, 1996 (Vilnius, 1996). (6) Ibid., p. 25-26.(7) Ibid., p. 83.(8) Ibid., p. 61.(9) Ibid., p. 45.(10) Ibid., p. 48.(11) Vaclav Havel, Maximilian Schell, Europe at the Fin se Siecle, Society, 32 (1995), 71.