No. 38

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Subjectness of Citizens in Empowering People

05 December 2018

Focus

RiTo No. 38, 2018

  • Leif Kalev

    Leif Kalev

    Professor of Political Studies, Tallinn University

One of the innovative focuses of population policy is the inclusion of empowerment and quality of life. The article discusses these issues, proceeding from the point of view of essential citizenship, or the subjectness of people in the society and the state.

Increasing of subjectness of citizens is observed through empowerment or facilitating the development of personal and structural opportunities. In this way, it is possible to bring both human-based view and dynamics into population policy, and increase the resource of structural power of total capacity in the society. The situation of Estonia is discussed, proceeding from the Fundamentals of the Population Policy until 2035, which were drafted in 2018. In Estonia, people are empowered as the carriers of culture, as those who know, those who can and those who create, and also as citizens in a democratic and cohesive state, community and society, and through positive life models and healthy work and family relationships. In most issues, it is necessary to specify these positions, but it is not clear, where and how it should be done. The issues that are to be developed further are discussed on the basis of subjectness of citizens; the choices of form and organisation depend on the preferences and capabilities of the state authorities.

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