NATION-BUILDING IN LATVIA

The article discusses the integration of ethnic groups, mainly Latvian Russians, into the Latvian nation-state society. A focus is upon the draft citizenship and naturalization law. We discuss the images and st ereotypes involved in the Latvian discourses of ethnicity. The draft c itizenship and naturalization law is intended first and foremost to pr otect and preserve the Latvian national identity. Naturalization shoul d enforce the majority of non-citizens (''aliens'') to integrate by wa y of adopting a Latvian national identity. But the division made betwe en citizens and non-citizens may, to the contrary, strengthen antagoni stic ethnic stereotypes and make integration more difficult.