Baltic States identity through banal nationalism: postage stamp iconography analysis

Abstract

This paper researches the reflection of nation-based discourses and national symbolism in the postage iconography of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania from the perspective of banal nationalism practices. There are two main research questions this paper seeks to answer. The first one is: What are the main postage stamp iconography themes used to construct and popularize the national discourses of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania? For that, a database consisting of 3069 stamps issued by Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania between 1918-1940 and 1991-2018 was analyzed, applying Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis to postage imagery and the official catalog inscription. The dominant patterns revealed common practices of banal nationalism in the selected states. The results revealed that national coats of arms remained a continuous trend in national symbolism manifestation in all states, also covering the subnational level of municipalities and cities. In addition, authoritarian regimes affected the iconography patterns, elevating the leader's role in collective memory. In contemporary practices, discourses became more inclusive at the subnational level by introducing new patterns of commemoration of people, heritage, and anniversaries. The second question is: how political developments within the state and participation in supranational organizations affected the postage stamps iconography of the Baltics States concerning national, regional, and European scales? The finding shows that authoritarian regimes emphasized the role of the leader and boasted the nation's pride via celebrations of independence accompanied by constant reminders of the collective trauma the Independence wars left. The new developments emphasized the inclusion of subnational symbolism in postage iconography alongside the promotion of European integrity and shared regional heritage.