Huvide ja väärtuste konflikt välispoliitikas dalai-laama Eesti visiitide näitel

Abstract

In this work I am explaining the public opinions effect on the official foreign policy of Estonia in the case of Dalai-lama visits. The subject is important because of the conflict between public opinion and official foreign policy. In the theoretical part I have focused on the states foreign policy behavior, nature of the government-in-exile and how states interact with them. The empirical part is divided into three parts. The first part starts with a short overview of the history of the Tibetan government-in-exile. It is important to explain the principles of the Tibetan government-in-exile and also the role of its leader Dalai-lama. In the second part I explain the motives why public opinion supports the government-in-exile. Two main motives behind public opinion support are ideological sympathy and humanitarian values. Then I find out how these motives are used in the policy of Tibetan government-in-exile. To do so it is important to analyze the messages of the Dalai-lama visits. That is why it is necessary to compare all the three visits of the Dalai-lama in Estonia. In the comparison I find out that the messages of the visits have changed by the time and both above mentioned motives are well used in the policy of Tibetan government-in-exile. The third part is focused on the behavior of Estonian state institutions during the Dalai-lama visit. How do different foreign policy institutions welcome Dalai-lama? To answer this question it is useful to examine separately the actions of the government, parliament and president. Comparison of the Dalai-lama visits is the best way to notice changes that have taken place in the practice of the foreign policy related institutions. It is easily seen how during the period of three visits the meetings between government officials and Dalai-lama have grown. Meeting with Dalai-lama has become a decision that is made by government officials themselves. There has developed a group of individuals who have met with Dalai-lama on every visit and regardless of their position. In case of Dalai-lama visits Estonian value based foreign policy depends on the values of public opinion, but also on the values of government officials.