Satversme. Statehood, Constitutional Culture and Traditions in Latvia

Abstract

The article retraces the historical development of Latvia from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era, singling out the factors that laid down the foundations of the rise of a sense of Latvian statehood. A survey of the political landscape is provided in order to contextualize the Latvian annexation to the Soviet Union and its newly established independence in the early 1990s’. Eventually, an overall assessment of the relevance of the basic law – Satversme – and of its influence over the evolution of the Latvian State throughout the decades is offered.