On Lithuanian Geopolitical Identity: National Elites and International Intellectual Exchanges

The article analyzes how the interpretation of 'universal' geopolitical ideas, especially those related to images of US power, depend on national as well as publishing and rhetorical interests. More specifically, by using Lithuanian examples, the historical circumstances of the reception of geopolitical ideas in Central and Eastern European countries are considered. It is suggested that different expectations with regards to certain geopolitical ideas often leads to misunderstanding or unreflective acceptance of new intellectual fashions. One can also reasonably doubt the straight transmission to Lithuania of the division between the intellectual traditions of the right and the left (in the way these traditions are manifested in Western Europe or the US). Nevertheless, accelerated public intellectuals' relations with different contexts created by globalization (access of the Internet, translations, academic journeys, international conferences, seminars) help to escalate these tendencies. In this, the success of post-Soviet cultural elites in establishing their forms of geopolitical identities depends on their ability to critically evaluate those different contexts.